FAA to let United use jets grounded after engine failure

Federal safety regulators have approved a path for United Airlines to resume using dozens of Boeing 777 jets that have been grounded since the engine on one plane blew apart over Denver last year.

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed Tuesday that it has approved steps necessary for flights to resume using the planes, which have engines made by Pratt & Whitney.

United’s chief commercial officer, Andrew Nocella, said some of the planes will be in use within a week. The planes had recently appeared in United’s schedule, starting May 26.

The 52 planes account for about 10% of United’s passenger-carrying capacity, “so it’s really, really material” to United’s business, Andrew Nocella, United’s chief commercial officer, said at a Bank of America conference.