Airlines around the world are
grounding Boeing 777 planes fitted with Pratt & Whitney PW4000-112 engines
after an incident on Saturday involving United flight 328 between Denver and
Honolulu in which parts of the engine fell to the ground shortly after
take-off. The plane returned safely to Denver and no-one was injured.
In a statement about the incident
Boeing said: "Boeing is actively monitoring recent events related
to United Airlines Flight 328. While the National Transportation Safety Board investigation is ongoing, we
recommended suspending operations of the 69 in-service and 59 in-storage 777s
powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines until the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) identifies the appropriate inspection protocol."
FAA administrator Steve Dickson called
for “immediate or stepped-up inspections of Boeing 777 airplanes equipped with certain
Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines. This will likely mean that some airplanes will
be removed from service”.
Meanwhile, Japan’s transport ministry
ordered both Japan Airlines and ANA to ground 777s equipped with the same series of
engines “while considering the necessity of countermeasures”.
ANA operates 19 of this specific
plane-engine combination while JAL operates 13. On 4 December last year, JAL flight
904 from Naha to Tokyo was forced to return to the airport due to a malfunction
in the engine on the left side. Inspection after arrival revealed damage
to the engine.
Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines have also
grounded 777s with these engines.