Boeing recommends airlines ground 777s with type of engine that blew apart

Boeing said on Sunday that it supports a decision by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Japan’s aviation authority to ground some of the company’s 777-series aircraft after an engine on one of those jets exploded while flying over Colorado.

The company said in a statement on its website that it “is actively monitoring recent events related to United Airlines Flight 328,” which landed in Denver after making an emergency stop due to the explosion. No injuries were reported.

“Boeing supports the decision yesterday by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau, and the FAA’s action today to suspend operations of 777 aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines. We are working with these regulators as they take actions while these planes are on the ground and further inspections are conducted by Pratt & Whitney,” said a company spokesperson.

The move comes the same day as video of the incident was shared widely on Twitter, showing Denver-area residents at a local dog park fleeing for cover as engine debris rains from the sky.

@broomfieldnews @BroomfieldPD @9NEWS we were at the dog park when we heard the loud boom from the airplane and pieces of the plane started falling pic.twitter.com/9nRg3UgUmV

— Claire Armstrong (@BAREESTHETICSCO) February 20, 2021

“After consulting with my team of aviation safety experts about yesterday’s engine failure aboard a Boeing 777 airplane in Denver, I have directed them to issue an Emergency Airworthiness Directive that would require immediate or stepped-up inspections of Boeing 777 airplanes equipped with certain Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said in a statement posted on Twitter earlier Sunday.

After Dickson’s announcement, CNN reported that United Airlines said it would be removing 24 Boeing 777 airplanes from its fleet that use the Pratt & Whitney PW4000 “immediately.”