Boeing Stops 777 flights in the US, Japan to Prevent Exploding Engines from Endangering Passengers

The Boeing 777 had an accident with an exploded engine that stopped similar planes from flying. One of the causes was damage to the engine propellers, which caused it to explode.

While over a suburb in Denver, an exploding engine scatters metal debris all over. Aviation officials in Japan stopped flights of Boeing Co. 777s to ground them indefinitely, as US regulators order an emergency check of fan blades in engines.

US FAA orders inspections after United Airlines Flight 328

According the US Federal Aviation Administration (USFAA) demanded checks after an engine blew apart in mid-air. Initially, the suspected problem is the hollow fan blade that caused the mishap last Sunday night. All the engine inspections will be those planes with the PW4077 engines made by Raytheon Technologies Corp.'s Pratt & Whitney division, reported Gulfbusiness.

We are voluntarily & temporarily removing 24 Boeing 777 aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000 series engines from our schedule. We will continue to work closely with regulators to determine any additional steps and expect only a small number of customers to be inconvenienced.
— United Airlines (@united) February 22, 2021

The United Airlines Flight 328 flying to Honolulu from Denver was a little after takeoff, with 231 passengers and ten crew members. Its engine blew up while flying. Fortunately, no one on the plane or the ground was injured. Captured video filmed the machine smoldering in flight while it rained debris on the earth.

It is a bad timing of the incident when airline companies suffer from the pandemic. For the last two years, Boeing has had more bad luck like crashes with equipment failure too. Overall, this accident adds to the trouble experienced by plane makers.

Some of their affected planes are 737 Max, Airbus A320neo jets crashed, or have equipment problems discovered. This pandemic has caused compound reduced air travel and exploded engine ground Boeing is a double whammy.

Also read: Flight MH370 Allegedly Disappeared Due to Pilot's Unstable Condition

Problems faced by Unite Airlines

According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the United Airlines Flight 328 had two cracked blades. It is a good thing the engine body stayed intact, and the plane was barely affected by the exploding engine.

Two fan blades were fractured on the United flight, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said. Most of the destruction was reduced by the engine, and the plane suffered only minor damage. United said it would voluntarily halt 24 of its aircraft while the FAA order is carried out.

The fan blade problem has not revealed more issues with the 777. Although it will be another task to do, right after the 737 Max was cleared by the FAA. To be sure, the rollout of 787 Dreamliners will be stopped so flaws can be double-checked.

FAA stops all operations of 777s

Based on the FAA's decision to stop operations of 777s, all 69-777 in-service and 59-in storage with Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines are not flying until the FAA knows what to do about it. Airlines with 777s in their fleets with the US, Japan, and South Korea use the PW4000 engines for their planes. United Airlines (UA) operates that engine type, while Japan Airlines have a 777-200 that had the same accident.

Spokespeople for Japan Airlines and ANA Holdings said that they've grounded their 777s following the transport ministry's order and are using other aircraft on Monday. In contrast, South Korea's transport ministry said it was looking into the issue. A single exploded engine ground Boeing 777s forcing many airlines to keep them from flying.