“Fractured Fan Blades in UAL 777 Engine Incident” – NTSB. By Daisy BARRO

Fire  on right engine of B777-200

 A rigorous investigation by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is ongoing to determine the cause of an engine failure incident that occurred on United Airlines flight 328 shortly after takeoff from Denver International Airport on February 20. The 231 passengers and 10 crew members landed safely with no injuries recorded.

According to NTSB, two fractured fan blades that started a fire on the aircraft’s right engine were partly responsible for the incident. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) immediately carried out an emergency inspection of the blades, while Boeing has called on operators of the B777-200 not to operate them until further notice.

Sources say that following the incident, United Airlines grounded its 24 affected aircraft. “We will continue to work closely with regulators to determine any additional steps to expect,” United had said.

FAA Administrator Steve Dickson is calling on Pratt & Whitney to “immediately step-up” inspections of its PW4000 fan blades.

This is happening not long after a similar occurrence on December 4, 2020, when the No.1 engine on a Japan Airlines 777-200 lost a fan blade shortly after takeoff on a flight from Okinawa, Japan to Tokyo. The country has also grounded all its B777-200 until further notice.