US Federal Aviation Administration Strengthens Inspection of Boeing 777 Engines After 'Debris Fall' Incident

Boeing "Actively Cooperating with Emergency Inspection Guidelines"

The appearance of the Boeing 777 [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently ordered enhanced inspections of the engines on Boeing 777 aircraft involved in in-flight incidents.

According to major foreign media on the 23rd (local time), the FAA instructed that the titanium blades' internal surfaces of the PW4000 engines, manufactured by aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney, be specially inspected before operation. This directive came just three days after the FAA issued an emergency inspection order following an engine incident involving an aircraft equipped with this engine.

In a statement released that day, the FAA said, "Based on response materials to the initial investigation results and data obtained from other investigations, we will determine future inspection intervals." The FAA has employed a thermal acoustic camera, similar to medical equipment used for ultrasonic examinations, to detect cracks inside the blades.

The FAA's regulatory order targets the 112-inch diameter PW4000 engines, which account for less than 10% of all engines installed on Boeing 777 models. Currently, a total of 128 Boeing 777 aircraft equipped with these engines are in operation. According to the directive, the operation of these aircraft will be temporarily suspended until the emergency inspections of the engines are completed.

Boeing responded by stating, "We will comply with the FAA's new directive to immediately inspect the engines and will cooperate with our customers during the investigation process."

Earlier, on the 20th, a United Airlines Boeing 777 passenger plane departing from Denver International Airport in Colorado, USA, en route to Honolulu, Hawaii, made an emergency return shortly after takeoff due to a failure in the right engine. Although there were no casualties, debris from the aircraft that fell in midair covered residential areas near the airport.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which was investigating the incident, said at a press conference the previous day, "It appears that a defect in the fan blades inside the engine caused a fire, leading to this accident."

The FAA also issued an emergency inspection order in March 2019 after a similar defect occurred in aircraft equipped with the same engine. At that time, the FAA mandated inspections of engine blades every 6,500 flights.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.