US Aviation orders inspection of Boeing-777s after mid-air engine failure

Twitter | File photo

Some 777s would ''likely'' be removed from service after the order of additional inspections of some Boeing 777 passenger jets by the US Federal Aviation Administration. This was led after a United Airlines flight suffered engine failure, scattering debris across a Colorado community.

The FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said he had consulted with his team of aviation safety experts following Saturday's engine failure abroad a Boeing 777 airplane shortly after it took off from 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," Dickson said in a statement released on Twitter.

After inspecting the 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.

Residents in the Denver suburb of Broomfield found large pieces of the plane scattered around their community, including a giant circular piece of metal that landed in someone's yard. Though there were no injuries on the plane or the ground, authorities said.

Besides, Dickson said, "Based on the initial information, we concluded that the inspection interval should be stepped up for the hollow fan blades that are unique to this model of engine, used solely on Boeing 777 airplanes.''

Investigators also compared the manufacturer's 737  MAX which had grounded in March 2019 --the 2019 Lion Air disaster in Indonesia and an Ethiopian Airlines crash killing 346 people in two crashes. They said the main cause of both crashes was a faulty flight handling system known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System or MCAS.

After this, Boeing was forced to renovate the system and implement new pilot training rules.

Until the grounding, the 737 MAX was a big hit with airlines, becoming Boeing's fastest-selling aircraft, which now is lifted.

Publish : 2021-02-22 13:26:00

Give Your Comments