The United States Aviation Constable (FAA) on Tuesday ordered a thorough examination of Boeing 777 engine blades similar to the one involved in a spectacular aerial incident last week, to detect possible cracks, before they can fly away.
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Depending on the results and other elements of the ongoing investigation, the FAA may decide to impose more frequent inspections of these engines manufactured by Pratt & Withney, the organization said in a statement.
FAA boss Steve Dickson said as early as Sunday that he had asked his team of aviation safety experts to issue an emergency airworthiness directive that would require immediate or in-depth inspections of Boeing 777 planes equipped with certain Pratt & engines. Whitney PW4000.
The day before, the reactor of a plane of this type operated by the United Airlines company had caught fire shortly after takeoff from Denver, in the western United States, and lost its fairing.
While the plane was rushing back to the airport, a rain of debris fell on a residential area on the outskirts of Denver.
Strengthening inspections
According to the preliminary findings of an investigation conducted independently by the US office in charge of transportation safety, the NTSB, the damage observed on site is consistent with "
metal fatigue
" of the fan blades of the engine manufactured by Pratt & Whitney.
“
After reviewing the available data and taking into account other safety factors, the FAA determined that operators should perform a thermo-acoustic imaging inspection of the large titanium fan blades located at the front of each engine.
"The FAA said on Tuesday.
This technology can indeed "
detect cracks on the interior surfaces of the hollow fan blades or in areas that cannot be seen during a visual inspection
", explained the regulator.
Boeing said on Monday that the 128 affected aircraft - 69 still in service with United Airlines, Japan Airlines (JAL), All Nippon Airways (ANA), Asiana and Korean Air, and 59 in reserve - were on hold pending more ample information.
The FAA had already demanded increased inspections after a previous incident in 2018 on a United flight between San Francisco and Honolulu, providing for a review every 6,500 flights.
The organization revealed on Monday that it had considered further tightening inspections after a similar damage to a Japan Airlines flight in December 2020. But it had not yet done so when the incident occurred on Saturday.
The FAA plans to share its information with other aviation regulators around the world.
