After a Boeing 777 Rained Failed-Engine Debris on Neighborhood Below, More Planes Grounded

After a twin-engine, wide-bodied Boeing 777 took off from a Denver airport — carrying 231 passengers and 10 crew members — its right engine failed. It began dropping debris on several neighborhoods below, CNBC reports.

America’s Federal Aviation Administration issued a statement saying it was “aware of reports of debris in the vicinity of the airplane’s flight path,” CNBC adds, noting that less than 30 minutes later the plane had returned to the airport. No passengers were injured.

Today the FAA is issuing an emergency airworthiness directive, “requiring immediate or stepped-up inspections” of similar planes. In a statement FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said the move “will likely mean that some airplanes will be removed from service.” Dickson’s statement suggests the insprections will be directed at hollow fan blades that “are unique to this model of engine, used solely on Boeing 777 airplanes.”

And more steps are being taken in Japan, reports Bloomberg:

Meanwhile, Japan’s transport ministry on Sunday ordered ANA Holdings and Japan Airlines to ground Boeing 777 planes they operate following the Denver engine failure. ANA operates 19 planes and JAL 13 with Pratt & Whitney’s PW4000 engine that saw a failure with United Airlines plane.