Pratt & Whitney engines on Boeing Co.
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777 jets must be inspected before these planes can fly again, according to an emergency order Tuesday issued by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Pratt & Whitney Engine on the 777 United Airlines Holdings broad body Inc.
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planes crashed during a flight over the weekend near Denver, spraying the accommodation below with debris and forcing the plane to return to the airport. No one was injured.
Airlines around the world that operate aircraft with this type of engine have already impressed jets. United, the only U.S. carrier affected, has voluntarily taken out its 24 Boeing 777 aircraft with Pratt & Whitney engines out of service – a move it said would affect the cargoes goods next month as they prepare to turn out parked planes to carry passengers.
United have additional impact jets that were parked in storage and the carrier said Tuesday that it will comply with an FAA order to ensure that all the planes in its fleet meet standards. strict safety.
On Monday, U.S. safety investigators said they found evidence of “damage consistent with metal weakness” on one of the engine’s fan blades that was severely torn. Apparently, that loose blade was stripped off part of a second blade that was also broken, according to Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board.
The FAA order, defined as an interim measure, means that there will be time before planes with these engines can fly again. They were praised by Boeing airlines and regulators in Japan ordered airlines there to stop them. Korean Air and Asiana Airlines have installed all 777 jets powered by Pratt & Whitney engines.
Authorities in other countries usually issue orders based on the country that confirmed the flight or part, in this case, the US
The FAA said it would review the results of thermal acoustic imaging studies that detect cracks on the inner surface of the fan blades that would not otherwise be seen. These results determine the frequency with which such studies need to be conducted on an ongoing basis.
What happened over the weekend follows two similar engine failures involving the same type of engine on the same type of aircraft in recent years.
The FAA had previously ordered that the fan blades of this engine be inspected at regular intervals following a similar incident on a United flight in 2018.
The FAA had already been considering whether to order further inspections of Pratt & Whitney engines following another similar failure on Japan Airlines Co.
fly in December. Japan’s Transport Safety Board said a fan blade that had weakened over time broke. Japan Airlines said it would inspect and replace these blades at more frequent intervals than previously requested in the FAA inspection regime.
In a statement, Pratt & Whitney said the engines will be sent to one of their facilities for inspection in accordance with FAA action, which they said affected some 125 Boeing 777s. Boeing said in a statement that it supports FAA guidance on inspection requirements.
– Doug Cameron and Eun-Young Jeong contributed to this article.
Write to Alison Sider at [email protected]
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