Japan halted the use an of the same type of jet engines that exploded and scattered metal parts over areas of Denver at the weekend as U.S. aviation regulators announced they will conduct further investigations on Boeing 777 planes, Reuters and other news outlets said Monday.
United Airlines Flight 328 was bound for Honolulu from Denver in the state of Colorado with 231 passengers and 10 crew members when the incident took place. The jet landed safely back at Denver after its right engine burned, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
Two fan blades of the Pratt & Whitney 4000 engine sustained heavy damage during the flight, the National Transportation Safety Board said. Most of the fractures was contained to the engine and the jet suffered only minor damage.
United Airlines said it was temporarily grounding all 24 of its Boeing 777 aircraft in active duty following the incident.
Japan's transport ministry ordered Japan Airlines (JAL) and ANA Holdings to stop the use of the B-777s with Pratt & Whitney 4000 engines while it considered whether to take extra measures.
The inspections "will likely mean that some airplanes will be removed from service... exact details of what type of inspections will be needed and how quickly they must be done are still being worked out," Bloomberg quoted FAA Administrator Steven Dickson as saying.
The elderly Boeing 777 plane engines are blowing up with alarming frequency.
In 2018, fan blade No. 11 on the right engine of a United Airlines 777 jet cracked as it approached Honolulu.
Last December, a Japan Airlines 777 jet suffered a similar engine failure after fan blade No. 16 of its main engine broke on a flight from Naha, Japan to Tokyo.
United Airlines is the only U.S. operator of the Boeing 777 aircraft, the FAA said. The other carriers that use the planes are in South Korea and Japan, according to the U.S. agency.
