Boeing leaves 128 of its planes on the ground

On February 21, United Airlines flight UAL328 between Denver and Honolulu, operated with a Boeing 777-200, suffered a right engine failure that caused pieces of the engine to fall in a residential area.

Despite not causing deaths or injuries, Boeing recommended suspending operations of 128 aircraft of this model. “We recommend the suspension of operations of 69 Boeing 777s that are currently in service and 59 that are in storage with Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines until the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) identifies the appropriate inspection protocol.” the company said in a statement.

Image courtesy of Puro Periodismo

For his part, FAA chief Steve Dickson stated that the US civil aviation agency had reviewed all the available safety data on Saturday’s breakdown and, based on the first information gathered, indicated that “the inspection should be strengthened on the hollow fan blades that are exclusive to this model of motor, used only in the B777 ”.

Both the aircraft manufacturer and Pratt & Whitney made themselves available to the civil aviation authorities to support the investigation of the case.

The Boeing 777-200 is the largest aircraft in use since 1990. These aircraft have experienced less than one major accident per million departures, one of the lowest rates of any major commercial aircraft.

Learn more at The Washington Post.