Aviation analyst and pilot Kyle Bailey says the NTSB will investigate whether a mechanical failure, debris entering the engine, or possibly improper maintenance is to blame.
A United Airlines Boeing 777 jet that suffered a catastrophic engine failure shortly after departing from Denver International Airport and littered Colorado neighborhoods with large chunks of debris underground, led the U.S. planners, airlines and international regulators to conduct inspections and even groundings. order the widebody planes.
The movements come after a PW4000 engine on United Flight 382, bound for Honolulu, exploded Saturday, forcing the crew to crash land in Denver less than half an hour after takeoff and marking the third incident. in recent years with the same jet and the same engine.
BOEING RECEIVES FAA INSPECTION ORDER FOR SOME 777 ENGINES AFTER UNITED FAILURE
In December 2020, a Japan Airlines 777 bound for Haneda Airport in Tokyo returned to Naha Airport in Okinawa after pilots encountered a problem with one of the PW4000 engines manufactured by Pratt & Whitney. Japan’s Transport Security Council found two broken fan blades, one with a fatigue fracture, and said investigations into the matter are ongoing.
Additionally, in February 2018, a fan blade broke on another United Boeing 777-200 jet, flying across the Pacific Ocean on a flight from San Francisco to Honolulu. An NTSB investigation of the incident found that a lack of training in Pratt & Whitney’s thermal acoustic image (TAI) inspection process resulted in “an incorrect evaluation of an indication that resulted in a blade with a crack being put back into service. was taken where it eventually broke. “
WASHINGTON (February 22, 2021) – This photo, taken February 22, 2021, shows the damage to engine number 2 of United Airlines Flight 328, a Boeing 777-200, after an engine failure on Saturday. (NTSB photo) (NTSB)
According to the most recent registration data, the PW4000 engines are only used on aircraft flying in the United States, Japan and South Korea.
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About 69 Boeing 777 aircraft in service contain the Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engine, while a further 59 remain in storage. Boeing advised on Sunday to keep the planes on the ground until the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) drafts an appropriate inspection protocol. United, the only US operator of Boeing 777s with the PW4000 engines, said it would ground the planes immediately.
The Japanese Ministry of Transportation ordered All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines on Sunday to use ground planes with PW4000 engines. The ministry said the order applied to 19 Boeing 777s with All Nippon Airways and 13 with Japan Airlines with the PW4000 engines.
Reuters reported that South Korea’s Department of Transportation also followed suit on Wednesday, instructing local airlines Korean Air, Asiana Airlines and Jin Air to have PW4000 engine fan blades inspected for a total of 29 Boeing 777s.
Pratt & Whitney, a division of Raytheon Technologies, said in a statement Sunday that it had sent a team to work with NTSB investigators, and that it was “actively coordinating with operators and regulators to review the Pratt’s revised inspection interval. Whitney PW4000 engines powering Boeing 777 aircraft. “
The company said Tuesday that the TAI process requires affected fan blades to be shipped to Pratt & Whitney’s FAA-authorized repair station, where 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 the PW4000 engine inspections on a “rolling basis,” adding that it could review how often these engines will be inspected in the future.
Hours before United’s flight took off in Colorado, a smaller variant of a Longtail Aviation Boeing 747’s PW4000 engine exploded over the skies of the Netherlands, dropping small debris and injuring a woman on the ground. The cargo flight departed from Maastricht Airport to New York.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | 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 of the PW4000 engines, the stock price of Pratt & Whitney’s parent company, Raytheon, has only risen. It is up more than 6% in the past five days. just like jet maker Boeing.
Nor has the controversy negatively affected United. The stock is up more than 19% in the last five days.