Japan grounds Boeing 777s after US airline’s jet suffers engine failure, rains debris

United Airlines flight 328 had been headed from Denver to Honolulu on Saturday when its engine failed soon after departure

Debris was scattered over the Denver suburb of Broomfield but no one was injured. A Japan Airlines 777-200 suffered a similar failure in December

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Smoke emanates from an engine fire on a Boeing 777 operated as United Airlines flight 328 on Saturday. Debris from the plane was scattered over Broomfield, Colorado. Photo: EPA/Hayden Smith @speedbird5280

Published: 9:19am, 22 Feb 2021Updated: 9:21am, 22 Feb 2021

Japan has ordered a halt to all flights of Boeing 777s equipped with the engine that failed on Saturday over Denver as US aviation regulators ordered emergency inspections of the model’s fan blades.

Japan’s transport ministry on Sunday ordered ANA Holdings Inc. and Japan Airlines Co. to ground Boeing 777 planes they operate following an engine failure that rained debris over a Denver suburb but injured no one. ANA operates 19 planes and JAL 13 with similar engines that failed on United Airlines plane in Denver.

The US carrier involved in Saturday’s incident, United Airlines, said it will voluntarily halt operations of 24 of its planes while inspections are carried out.

Residents take pictures of debris from the United Airlines jet’s engine failure in Broomfield, Colorado, on Saturday. Photo: AFP

The US Federal Aviation Administration ordered inspections after examining the hollow fan blade that failed, the agency said in an emailed statement on Sunday evening. The inspections apply to Boeing 777s equipped with PW4000 engines made by Raytheon Technologies Corporation’s Pratt & Whitney division.

FAA Administrator Steven Dickson said the aggressive inspections “will likely mean that some planes will be removed from service.”

A Japan Airlines 777-200 with Pratt & Whitney engines suffered a similar failure on December 4.