DENVER (KDVR) — Boeing 777s’ engine issues are not restricted entirely or even largely to the Boeing 777-222 model. Most engine problems in the Boeing 777 line happen in other models.
United Airlines flight 328 rained scrap metal on Colorado’s suburb of Broomfield on Saturday. The flight landed safely back at Denver International Airport after an engine failure occurred shortly after taking off for Hawaii.
News reports pin responsibility for the Broomfield debris field squarely on Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines, which are only used in Boeing 777 airplanes. Fleets who use planes with these engines in the United States, South Korea and Japan have since been grounded until the proper inspections can take place, including the United Airlines’ stable of 69 active Boeings.
Since 1997, there have been 145 worldwide incidents involving Boeing 777s according to Aviation Safety Network.
The network records incidents ranging from sick passengers to catastrophic crashes to vanished aircraft. Since 1997, it has recorded 145 incidents involving the Boeing 777.
Of these 145 incidents, nearly one in five – 19% – were some kind of engine trouble.
The engine issues are not confined to the Boeing 777-222, the model involved in Saturday’s engine failure. That model only accounts for one-quarter of the Boeing 777’s engine-related incidents.