WASHINGTON – The US Federal Aviation Administration ordered Sunday extra inspections of some Boeing 777 passenger jets, after a United flight suffered engine failure a day earlier in Colorado.
“After consulting with my team of aviation safety experts about yesterday’s engine failure aboard a Boeing 777 airplane in Denver, I have directed them to issue an Emergency Airworthiness Directive that would require immediate or stepped-up inspections of Boeing 777 airplanes equipped with certain Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said in a statement.
“This will likely mean that some airplanes will be removed from service.”
A video shot from inside the aircraft – which had 231 passengers and 10 crew onboard – showed the right engine ablaze and wobbling on the wing of the Boeing 777-200, its cover entirely missing as the aircraft returned to Denver airport.
There were no injuries on the plane or on the ground, authorities said.
Dickson said a preliminary safety data review pointed to a need for additional checks of the jet engine’s fan blades.
The aerospace giant concluded a bruising 2020 with a US$11.9 billion loss (RM48.1 billion), as revenues were ravaged by the commercial airline downturn and a 20-month grounding of its 737 MAX model.
Boeing also announced in late January that it now expects first deliveries of the wide-body 777X in late 2023, compared with the earlier timetable of 2022. – AFP, February 22, 2021
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