The grounding of dozens of Boeing 777 planes is expected to have limited effect on flights in Atlanta.
The groundings come after a 777′s Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engine broke apart during a United Airlines flight taking off from Denver on Saturday. Engine parts rained down on a suburban neighborhood before the plane safely made an emergency landing. No injuries were reported.
The 777 is a large widebody jet often used for international and long-haul flights. The United flight was taking off for Honolulu from its Denver hub. United, which does not have a hub at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, said its Atlanta flights will not be affected by the groundings.
Last year, Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines retired all of its Boeing 777s, which had different types of engines. Southwest Airlines, the second-largest carrier in Atlanta, has an all-737 fleet.
Still, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said Monday while speaking on a DealBook DC Policy Project live stream, “When you see the video, it’s frightening.... Obviously there’s something in the blades technology that we need to find out about.”
Korean Air, a Delta partner, has used the 777 on flights to Hartsfield-Jackson , but is now using the Boeing 787 on its Atlanta route to Seoul. Korean Air says it has grounded its 777s powered with PW4000 engines and will follow directives from regulatory authorities.
FAA Administrator Steve Dickson, who is also a former Delta executive, issued a statement saying some 777s were expected to be removed from service for “immediate or stepped-up inspections” of the hollow fan blades unique to this model of engine. The engine is used only on Boeing 777 planes, though many 777s have engines made by a different manufacturer, GE Aviation.
Boeing said it supports the FAA’s action to suspend operations of the affected 777s and is working with regulators.
United will remove from its flight schedule its two-dozen 777s with the Pratt & Whitney 4000 series engines, airline officials said.
The initial examination of the engine that failed showed multiple fan blades were fractured and others were damaged, the National Transportation Safety Board said.
Police in Broomfield, Colorado, where parts of the engine landed in a neighborhood, posted photos on Twitter of debris and told residents to not touch it or move it.
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