U.S. FAA finalizes Boeing 777 safety directives after fan blade failures (updated)

Jin Air Co

09/03/2022 23:29

(Adds details, background, no immediate Boeing comment, adds
United comment)
    By David Shepardson
    WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) said on Wednesday it is finalizing three
safety directives for some grounded Boeing 777 planes with Pratt
& Whitney 4000 engines that will allow them to return to
service.
    The new final airworthiness directives cover Boeing 777s
like a United Airlines 777 that failed shortly after takeoff
from Denver in February 2021, showering debris over nearby
cities. No one was injured and the plane safely returned to the
airport.
    The FAA said the new directives, which were proposed in
December after three reported in-flight fan blade failures,
require enhanced inspections and modifications that will allow
Boeing 777-200 and -300 airplanes equipped with those Pratt &
Whitney engines to resume flights after being grounded for more
than a year.
    One directive requires installing debris shields on the
thrust reverser inner wall, inspecting fan cowl doors for
moisture ingression and repetitive checks of the hydraulic pump
shutoff valves. Another requires modifying the engine inlet to
withstand fan blade failure events. A third requires specific
corrective actions depending on inspection results.
    The directives will be effective in mid-April.
    In February 2021, the agency ordered immediate inspections
of 777 planes with PW 4000 engines before further flights, after
the National Transportation Safety Board found a cracked fan
blade on the United engine.
    United, which is the only U.S. operator of 777s with the
PW4000 engine and has 52 of those planes, said the step "is a
good and safe outcome for our industry and United customers."
    The airline said "many of the affected engines have already
undergone these proposed modifications. We expect these aircraft
to resume flying customers again soon."
    Boeing must now develop a service bulletin laying out steps
airlines must take to meet requirements. FAA must approve that
bulletin before the planes can return to service.
    Boeing did not immediately comment.
    In April, Japan Airlines  9201.T  said it had retired its
fleet of 13 Boeing Co 777s with PW4000 engines a year earlier
than planned, having suspended operations in February.
    The Japanese carrier had an incident of its own with the
PW4000 engines in December, when a malfunction forced a
Tokyo-bound JAL 777 to return to Naha airport in Okinawa.
    The engines are on only a small number of older 777s
operated by JAL, United, ANA Holdings Inc  9202.T , Korean Air
Lines Co Ltd  003490.KS , Asiana Airlines Inc  020560.KS  and
Jin Air Co Ltd  272450.KS . 

 (Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Grant McCool)
 ((David.Shepardson@thomsonreuters.com; 2028988324;))