The American company United Airlines has said that it is grounding 24 of its Boeing 777 planes. On Saturday, one of his aircraft’s engines failed and caught fire during the flight. There were 231 passengers and 10 crew members in this plane. The plane made an emergency landing back at Denver Airport.
Fragments of the aircraft were recovered from a nearby residential area. After this incident, Japan suspended the flights of all Boeing 777 aircraft with this engine (Pratt & Whitney 4000).
Boeing, in support of Japan’s proposal, said that an investigation into the incident is ongoing and that all Boeing 777 aircraft with the same engines have been temporarily grounded until then.
The Boeing Company says that there are currently 69 Boeing 777 aircraft worldwide with this engine installed. According to the US Federal Civil Aviation Authority (FAA), United is the only airline operating these planes. Other aircraft are in use in Japan and South Korea.
What happened during the flight?
The FAA says United Flight 328 was bound for Honolulu. But suddenly his right engine failed. The agency has ordered additional inspections of Boeing 777s equipped with the Pratt & Whitney 4000 engine after the incident.
“We have reviewed all safety information following yesterday’s incident,” said FAA official Steve Dixon.
According to preliminary information, this engine model is used only in Boeing 777 aircraft. It has hollow fan blades and needs to be checked quickly. FAA representatives will meet with Boeing and the engine manufacturer.
According to a preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, most of the damage was done to the right engine. Two of his wing blades were broken and other blades were affected by it. The main part of the aircraft was only slightly damaged.
Passengers on the flight said a ‘big explosion’ was heard during take-off. “There were strong tremors felt during the flight,” says David Dulcia. We were not able to reach the altitude and started coming down.
“My wife and I kept our wallets in our pockets so that we could be identified if we fell down,” he says.
“There was a ‘boom’,'” says passenger Brenda Dawn. You could hear it clearly. We started shaking (in the plane). I was near that engine and I saw smoke coming out of it.
Broomfield Town Police have shared photos of the incident in which parts of the plane can be seen lying in a garden outside a home. These parts also fell on a football field.
However, no one was reported to be injured due to the parts falling from the plane. All Boeing 777s with this engine have been grounded in Japan. These aircraft will no longer be able to enter the airspace until further notice. The government has banned airlines from using these planes.
Last year, a JAL flight was diverted back to the airport due to a fault in the left engine. The plane was 26 years old as the United Airlines plane that had the incident on Saturday.
In 2018, a United Airlines flight departing Honolulu suffered a right engine failure. After investigation, it was found that the fan had malfunctioned.
