Residents take pictures of fallen debris from the engine of a United Airlines plane in the Broomfield neighborhood, near Denver, Colorado, on February 20, 2021. A United Airlines flight suffered an engine failure on February 20, just after taking off from Denver on its way to Hawaii, dropping huge debris into a residential area before a safe emergency landing, officials said.
Chet Strange | AFP | Getty Images
The Federal Aviation Administration chief said on Sunday that the agency would order the inspection of some Boeing 777 jets after a United Airlines plane suffered an engine failure shortly after Denver took off.
United said it is voluntarily phasing out its 24 active Boeing 777s with the same Pratt and Whitney engine.
United flight 328 made an emergency landing back to Denver International Airport shortly after takeoff on Saturday afternoon. No one was injured on board, but debris, including what appeared to be the large engine cover, was found in front of a nearby house.
“We reviewed all safety data available after yesterday’s incident. Based on the initial information, we concluded that the inspection interval should be increased for hollow fan blades that are exclusive to this engine model, used exclusively on Boeing 777 aircraft, “FAA administrator Steve Dickson said in a statement.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating the incident.