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U.S. aviation safety regulators were considering mandating increased inspections of some Pratt & Whitney engines before one of the engines on a United Airlines Holdings Inc. flight separated over a city near Denver on Saturday. , announced the Federal Aviation Administration.
The disclosure came as US security investigators said they found evidence of “metal fatigue-consistent damage” on one of the engine’s fan blades that had been largely torn off. This loose blade apparently then cut off part of a second blade that was also fractured, Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said at a press conference Monday night.
Mr Sumwalt said investigators were looking to determine why an exterior coating known as the cowling came off, as well as why the damaged engine remained on fire even after the flight crew cut off the fuel.
The incident last weekend was the third in a series of failures involving the same types of engines and aircraft in recent years. U.S. regulators previously ordered enhanced fan blade inspections after a previous engine failure on another United flight on a Boeing 777 in 2018. Then in December, an engine failed on a Japan Airlines Co flight. in Tokyo, which prompted the FAA to further scrutiny. .
There were similarities between the incident in Japan and the incident in Colorado. Japan’s Transportation Safety Board said a fan blade that had detached from that engine was showing signs of metal fatigue. Another blade was broken roughly in half.
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