Boeing confirmed on February 22, 2021, that dozens of its 777 aircraft were grounded globally after the engine of a United Airlines plane caught fire and scattered debris over a suburb of Denver, Colorado./ AFP
Britain said on Monday that Boeing 777 aircraft with the same engines as one that caught fire in the United States would be banned from entering UK airspace.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the temporary restriction applied to jets equipped with Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 series engines.
Boeing said February 22, 2021 that 128 of it 777 planes with Pratt & Whitney engines will stop flying after the fire Saturday that forced the United Airlines plane to make an emergency landing.
“I will continue to work closely with the (UK Civil Aviation Authority) to monitor the situation,” he tweeted after a United Airlines plane was forced to make an emergency landing on Saturday following an engine fire.
A United Airlines plane suffered a fiery engine failure on Saturday shortly after taking off from Denver for Hawaii, dropping massive debris on a residential area before a safe emergency landing, officials said.
A video shot from inside the aircraft — which had 231 passengers and 10 crew onboard — showed the right engine ablaze and wobbling on the wing of the Boeing 777-200, its cover entirely missing as the aircraft flew over a barren landscape.
There were no injuries on the plane or on the ground, authorities said.
“I can honestly say I thought we were going to die at one point — because we started dropping altitude right after the explosion,” passenger David Delucia told The Denver Post.
“I grabbed my wife’s hand and said, ‘We’re done.’”
Delucia said his stepdaughter tweeted the online video, which was shot by another passenger.
“Flight UA328 from Denver to Honolulu experienced an engine failure shortly after departure, returned safely to Denver and was met by emergency crews as a precaution,” United Airlines said in a statement.
“The majority of customers originally on UA328 are currently on their way to Honolulu on a new flight,” it added, saying those who did not wish to travel immediately had been provided with hotel accommodation.
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