U.S. aviation safety regulators were considering whether to force increased inspections of certain Pratt & Whitney engines before one that powered a United Airlines Holdings Inc. flight. crashed Saturday over a city near Denver, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The disclosure occurred when U.S. safety investigators said they found evidence of “damage consistent with metal fatigue” in one of the blades on the engine fan that had been largely torn off. That loose leaf apparently tore apart part of a second leaf that also fractured, Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said at a news conference Monday evening.
Sumwalt said investigators are investigating why an outer deck known as the fairing was separated, and why the damaged engine remained on fire even after the flight crew turned off the fuel.
Last weekend’s incident was the third in a series of crashes that have affected the same type of engines and aircraft in recent years. U.S. regulators had previously ordered intensified inspections of fan blades following a previous engine failure on another United flight on a Boeing 777 in 2018. In December, an engine failed during a Japan Airlines Co flight. . to Tokyo, which led to a new control of the FAA.
There were similarities between the Japan incident and the Colorado incident. The Transportation Safety Board of Japan said a broken fan blade from this engine showed signs of metal fatigue. Another leaf was broken about in half.