BREAKING: Massive Pieces of Debris Fall In Colorado After Reported Explosion on United Airlines Flig

[PeteS in CA]

Damage to Boeing 777 engine consistent with metal fatigue, NTSB says
By Yaron Steinbuch
February 23, 2021 | 7:04am

The chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board said a preliminary assessment has revealed that damage to a fan blade in the engine that failed on a United Airlines Boeing 777-200 is consistent with metal fatigue.

The Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engine failed with a “loud bang” four minutes after takeoff off Saturday from Denver, causing minor damage to the fuselage, NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt told reporters Monday after an initial analysis of the flight data and cockpit voice recorders. ... More at NY Post

I wonder how many hours that engine had. The 777 is not an ancient model (introduced 1993) and is still in production. Besides P & W, GE and Rolls Royce engines are used on the 777-200. I'm guessing a major inspection effort is in the works for P & W engines, and possibly a review of the design.

[PeteS in CA]

After Saturday’s engine failure, Boeing says many 777s should be grounded

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/02/boeing-recommends-grounding-777s-with-pratt-whitney-engines/

"Boeing is actively monitoring recent events related to United Airlines Flight 328," the company stated on Sunday. "While the NTSB investigation is ongoing, we recommended suspending operations of the 69 in-service and 59 in-storage 777s powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines until the FAA identifies the appropriate inspection protocol."

There are versions of the 777 aircraft with engines built by three different manufacturers. For about the last 15 years, new 777s have all been delivered with GE-made engines. So this recommendation applies to older models of the aircraft still in service.

My emphasis. These aircraft should have a lifetime, with proper maintenance, of multiple decades. So these ~130 planes, if they have the metal fatigue problem, won't fulfill that without new engines. OTOH, these 130 planes are a relatively small portion of the 777 production run (all variants).

Taken along with the deadly 737 Max fiasco and the KC-46 production issues, this seems likely to be another substantial PR hit for the Lazy B.

[Sled Dog]

Sometimes it is apparent, such as this.  But each of us have come "this close" during our lifetimes.  So grateful this event resulted in only equipment damage and debris cleanup.

Less than two seconds.

The time it took for my submarine's conning tower to clear the bow of the other submarine so our rudder scraped under that ship's belly.

If the conning tower had ripped under the other submarine, that ship would have been stuck to us and flooded.  Both ships would have gone to the bottom with all hands and both reactors.

[mountaineer]

Video reenactment with actual flight audio:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C074FDH2j4
Bursting into Flames Just After Takeoff | Here’s What Really Happened to N772UA (With Real Audio)

[Elderberry]

Less than two seconds.

The time it took for my submarine's conning tower to clear the bow of the other submarine so our rudder scraped under that ship's belly.

If the conning tower had ripped under the other submarine, that ship would have been stuck to us and flooded.  Both ships would have gone to the bottom with all hands and both reactors.

I guess the Pigs and Chicks kept you safe.