On Saturday, United Flight 328 left Denver for Honolulu. The Boeing 777 was carrying 231 passengers and 10 crew when, shortly after takeoff, components of one in all its Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines started breaking apart and falling from the sky over Colorado’s capital.
Primarily based on video and pictures posted to Twitter, it’s a scary because it sounds.
Engine failure on Boeing 777 United plane. Airplane took off from Denver and returned safely in 20 minutes. Engine components fell quickly after take off. Pilots flew the plane again safely. Take a look at the engine, it is hardly in form. pic.twitter.com/gByQ9Sj85q
— Nagarjun Dwarakanath (@nagarjund) February 21, 2021
United Airways Boeing 777 working as flight 328 flying from Denver – Honolulu suffered a critical engine failure on takeoff.
It made an emergency touchdown and everyone seems to be okay.
Take a look at these items of the engine falling from the sky…pic.twitter.com/1IyBj6Nlf2
— Rex Chapman???????? (@RexChapman) February 20, 2021
JUST IN: Denver Worldwide Airport officers inform us United Airways Flight 328 certain for Honolulu returned to the airport after an engine drawback. Neighbors heard a loud growth, took these photographs of what seem like Boeing 777 engine nacelle of their yards. pic.twitter.com/mklpz3VG4F
— Pete Muntean (@petemuntean) February 20, 2021
Fortunately there have been no stories of accidents within the air or on the bottom, and Flight 328 shortly made an emergency touchdown. Nonetheless, as CNN reports, Flight 328’s particles unfold over a mile throughout a Denver suburb, so issues might have turned out a lot in a different way.
By Sunday an preliminary examination of Flight 328’s Pratt & Whitney PW4077 engine by the Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB) confirmed that two of the engine’s fan blades had been fractures, with different blades having associated harm. The findings are nonetheless preliminary, however on account of the incident:
- Boeing issued a statement saying it recommends airways droop “operations of the 69 in-service and 59 in-storage 777s powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines till the FAA identifies the suitable inspection protocol.”
- The FAA issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive requiring speedy or steeped-up inspections of Boeing 777s geared up with sure Pratt & Whitney 4000 engines.
- Japan’s aviation regulator ordered Japan Airways and All Nippon Airways to cease flying Boeing 777s that use the Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines.
- Korean Air grounded its 777s planes with the identical Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines utilized in United Flight 328.
The Flight 328 incident couldn’t come at a worse time for Boeing, which is already coping with the aftermath of two deadly 737 MAX crashes in recent times and the COVID-19 pandemic that has decimated the airline trade. As for Pratt & Whitney, the corporate issued a brief statement that it has “dispatched a crew to work with investigators” and that it “will proceed to work to make sure the protected operation of the fleet.”
