Boeing 777s Powered by PW4000s Grounded Worldwide

Following Japan’s grounding of all Boeing 777s equipped with Pratt & Whitney PW4000-112  turbofans, the U.S. FAA late Sunday said it would issue an emergency airworthiness directive requiring immediate or “stepped up” inspections of the airplanes in reaction to a major engine failure aboard a United Airlines 777-200 on Saturday. The order came as United Airlines, the only U.S. operator of the airplanes in question, said it had grounded its fleet of 24 after consultations with Boeing and the FAA.

In a statement, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson shed light on investigators’ focus on the hollow fan blades unique to the PW4000s in the 777. Those blades have come under scrutiny in the past, following a similar incident in 2018 involving the same model of airplane operated by United Airlines. In this case, the National Transportation Safety Board's initial inspection found one blade fractured at the root, an adjacent blade fractured at about mid-span, and a portion of one embedded in the containment ring. The remainder of the blades showed damage to the tips and leading edges.

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