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Aviation analyst and pilot Kyle Bailey said the NTSB would investigate responsibility for mechanical failure, ingestion of engine debris or possible improper maintenance.
A United Airlines Boeing 777 plane that suffered a catastrophic engine failure shortly after departing from Denver International Airport, littering the Colorado neighborhoods below with large debris, drove the U.S. automaker, Airlines and international regulators to order inspections and even groundings of the jumbo jet.
The moves come after a PW4000 engine on United Flight 382, headed for Honolulu, exploded on Saturday, forcing the crew to make an emergency landing in Denver less than half an hour after takeoff and marking the third incident in recent years involving the same jet and the same engine.
BOEING RECEIVES FAA INSPECTION ORDER ON CERTAIN 777 ENGINES AFTER UNITED FAULT
In December 2020, a Japan Airlines 777 headed for Haneda Airport in Tokyo returned to Naha Airport in Okinawa after pilots encountered a problem with one of the PW4000 engines, which is manufactured by Pratt & Whitney. Japan’s Transportation Safety Board found two broken fan blades, one with a metal stress fracture, and said its investigation into the matter is ongoing.
In addition, a fan blade broke on another United Boeing 777-200 aircraft in February 2018, which was flying over the Pacific Ocean on a flight from San Francisco to Honolulu. An NTSB investigation into the incident determined that the lack of training in Pratt & Whitney’s thermal-acoustic imaging (TAI) inspection process resulted in “an incorrect assessment of an indication which resulted in the return to service of ‘a vane with a crack where it eventually fractured. “
WASHINGTON (February 22, 2021) – This image taken on February 22, 2021 shows damage to the number 2 engine of United Airlines Flight 328, a Boeing 777-200, following an engine failure incident on Saturday. (NTSB Photo) (NTSB)
According to the most recent registry data, PW4000 engines are used only on airplanes flying in the United States, Japan and South Korea.
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Approximately 69 Boeing 777 aircraft in service contain the Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engine while 59 others remain in stock. Boeing recommended on Sunday that planes be immobilized until the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) puts in place an appropriate inspection protocol. United, the only U.S. operator of Boeing 777s with PW4000 engines, said it would ground the planes immediately.
Japan’s transport ministry on Sunday ordered All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines to ground planes using PW4000 engines. The ministry said the order applied to 19 Boeing 777s at All Nippon Airways and 13 at Japan Airlines with PW4000 engines.
Reuters reported that South Korea’s transport ministry also followed suit on Wednesday, ordering local carriers Korean Air, Asiana Airlines and Jin Air to have the fan blades of PW4000 engines inspected on a total of 29 Boeing 777s.
Pratt & Whitney, a division of Raytheon Technologies, said in a statement on Sunday that it had dispatched a team to work with NTSB investigators and that it was “actively coordinating with operators and regulators to take charge of the revised inspection interval of the Pratt & Whitney. PW4000 engines fitted to the Boeing 777. “
The company said on Tuesday that the TAI process required that the affected fan blades be shipped to the FAA-approved repair facility at Pratt & Whitney, where the inspection will take place.
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“Pratt & Whitney is coordinating all actions with Boeing, airlines and regulators,” the company said. “The safe operation of the fleet is our top priority.”
The FAA noted that the agency will review the results of inspections of PW4000 engines on an “ongoing basis,” adding that it may revise the frequency with which these engines are inspected in the future.
Hours before United took off in Colorado, a smaller variant of the PW4000 engine of a Longtail Aviation Boeing 747 exploded in the skies of the Netherlands, dropping small debris and injuring a woman on the ground. The cargo flight was taking off from Maastricht airport and heading for New York.
| Teleprinter | security | Latest | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA | BOEING COMPANY | 229.34 | +17.22 | + 8.12% |
| UAL | UNITED AIRLINES HLDG. | 54.96 | +4.35 | + 8.60% |
| RTX | RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES | 77.67 | +3.68 | + 4.97% |
Despite all the problems with the PW4000 engines, the share price of Pratt & Whitney’s parent company, Raytheon, has only increased. For the last five days, it is up over 6%. just like jet maker Boeing.
The controversy has not had a negative impact on United either. For five days, its stock has increased by more than 19%.
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