FAA issues safety directives for Boeing 777-200 engines (updated)

Jin Air Co

22/12/2021 17:16

(Adds FAA, Pratt comment,)
    By David Shepardson
    WASHINGTON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) on Wednesday issued three proposed
directives for Boeing 777-200 planes equipped with Pratt &
Whitney (PW) engines after an engine failure in February.
    The directives will require inspections and strengthening a
key engine part, and will allow Boeing 777-200 airplanes
equipped with PW4000 engines to return to service.
    A fan blade failure prompted an engine to fail on a United
Airlines  UAL.O  777-200 bound for Honolulu after takeoff from
Denver on Feb. 20. The incident showered debris over nearby
cities, but no one was injured and the plane safely returned to
the airport.
    The FAA said it was calling for strengthening engine
cowlings, enhanced engine fan-blade inspection and inspection of
other systems and components. The directives will require
corrective action based on inspection results.
    The FAA in February ordered immediate inspection of 777
planes with PW4000 engines before further flights after
investigators found that a cracked fan blade on the United
engine was consistent with metal fatigue.
    United and Boeing did not immediately comment.
    Raytheon Technologies'  RTX.N  Pratt & Whitney said on
Wednesday the inspection of fan blades was "already underway"
and could "be performed in the field, on or near-wing by trained
personnel." It added the directive mandates "guidance Pratt &
Whitney has provided to customers."
    The FAA said "further action is necessary to address the
airplane-level implications and unsafe condition resulting from
in-flight engine fan blade failures."     
    United, the only U.S. operator of 777s with the PW4000
engine, has 52 of those planes that remain grounded.
    United Chief Executive Scott Kirby noted that the airline's
voluntary grounding of those 52 planes was not cheap.
    "That is a massively expensive decision to make -- but we
did it for safety," Kirby told a U.S. Senate panel.
    In October, United said those 52 airplanes are expected to
return to service as early as the first quarter of 2022.

 (Reporting by David Shepardson;
Editing by Bernadette Baum)
 ((David.Shepardson@thomsonreuters.com; 2028988324;))