Boeing suspends 777s after engine failure on United flight 328, similar to past incidents.
What We Know:
- There were reports of engine failure minutes after flight 328 left the Colorado Airport set to arrive in Hawaii on Saturday. The Pratt & Whitney 400 engine had significant metal damage as one of the twenty-two blades was lodged into the engine. No one was injured in the rushed descent back to safety, but the damage was left in the neighborhoods of Denver with parts of the engine scattered.
- “United 328 Heavy — Mayday Mayday … Denver departure. United 328 Heavy Mayday. Aircraft just experienced engine failure — need to turn immediately,” rang over the air traffic radio as the pilots desperately tried to keep the plane in flight. Kieran Cain told CNN, “We could see there was a giant black cloud of smoke high up in the sky, immediately followed by, you know what looked like pieces of the aircraft.” Once the aircraft landed, investigators began their search for answers.
- Boeing in the past has been questioned about the safety of its engines. In June of last year, FAA chief, Steve Dickinson, went before the U.S. Senate to testify about the safety and quality of Boeing 737. This hearing came about in the wake of two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019. Now, only eight months later, the Boeing company is under fire yet again.
- The results of Saturday’s single-engine failure have led to the grounding and inspection of all Boeing 777s worldwide. In the U.S., thermal acoustics image inspections will occur so that inspectors can identify cracks in the engine blades. The engines will be inspected by FAA investigators over the coming months. Dickinson made the following statement concerning the flight shutdowns, “This will likely mean that some airplanes will be removed from service” but rest assured as only 24 airplanes are currently using this engine type.
This on-going investigation will be properly reported as the investigation evolves and more evidence comes to light.
