The United Kingdom decided to ban its airspace on Boeing 777 planes equipped with the same engines as the plane that was exposed to a massive fire in Colorado (USA), the British Transport Secretary announced on Monday.
“In the wake of this weekend’s troubles, Boeing 777s with Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines will be temporarily banned from British airspace,” Grant Shaps said on Twitter.
The British Civil Aviation Authority determined that these aircraft, which were frozen by the American manufacturer, were not used by British companies.
The agency said that this type of device “is being used by companies in the United States, Japan and South Korea.”
United Airlines’ Boeing 777-220 had just taken off from Denver, Colorado, bound for Honolulu, Hawaii, with 231 passengers and 10 crew members on board, and was forced to return after its right-hand plane caught fire.
The plane managed to land safely at the Denver airport, and none of its occupants was injured.
And Boeing had “recommended” Sunday night to suspend flights of this type of aircraft.
United Airlines, the two major Japanese companies, ANA and JAL, and South Korean Airlines Asiana, have already announced between Sunday and Monday that they are freezing the “Triple 7” with this model of engines.
gmo / ved / mar / mb