Pratt and Whitney’s parent company shares plunge after engines fail

The company behind engine-maker Pratt & Whitney saw its share price slump in pre-market trading today after one of the firm’s engines exploded and rained down debris over Denver while another suffered a similar failure in the Netherlands. 

Shares in Raytheon, the parent company of Pratt & Whitney, had suffered a 2.77 per cent drop as of 7am EST in a blow to one of the main players in the aircraft engine market and a boost to its competitors including Britain’s Rolls-Royce and Boston-based General Electric. 

The near-disaster in Colorado has led to the grounding of more than a hundred Boeing 777s fitted with Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines, used by United Airlines as well as Japan’s two main carriers and a South Korean firm. 

Boeing said today that all 128 of the planes have been grounded, saying it had recommended suspending operations of 69 in-service and 59 in-storage aircraft while US authorities investigate what happened in Denver.  

A PW4056 engine from the same range was involved in Saturday’s Dutch incident, it is believed, which saw two people injured when the engine of a Boeing 747 freighter caught fire near the town of Meerssen. 

Pratt & Whitney said it was ‘actively co-ordinating’ with planemakers and federal regulators after the FAA called for emergency inspections of the 777s, with the firm adding that it had dispatched a team to work with investigators.

‘Pratt & Whitney will continue to work to ensure the safe operation of the fleet,’ the engine-maker said on Sunday in its first statement since the right-engine failure on United’s Flight 328 on Saturday.    

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United Airlines said late Sunday it will immediately halt all flights by its fleet of 24 Boeing 777 airplanes with the same type of engine involved in Saturday’s emergency landing in Denver. Pictures taken from the ground show the jet’s engine on fire and trailing smoke on Saturday 

Two people were injured in the Netherlands after the engine of a Boeing 747-400 cargo jet burst into flames, raining debris down on the town of Meerssen (pictured, a turbine blade stuck in the roof of a car)

Two people were injured in the Netherlands after the engine of a Boeing 747-400 cargo jet burst into flames, raining debris down on the town of Meerssen (pictured, a turbine blade stuck in the roof of a car)

The announcement came after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it would require stepped-up inspections of 777 aircraft with Pratt & Whitney PW4000 series engines after the right engine failure on United Flight 328

The announcement came after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it would require stepped-up inspections of 777 aircraft with Pratt & Whitney PW4000 series engines after the right engine failure on United Flight 328 

Two people are injured after Boeing cargo plane engine catches fire, dropping debris onto a Dutch town 

Two people have been injured after the jet engine of a Boeing cargo plane burst into flames shortly after taking off in the Netherlands.

Debris from the 747-400 jet fell on the Dutch town of Meerssen on Sunday afternoon when it got into trouble shortly after taking off from Maastricht airport.

An elderly woman was left with a head injury after being hit by a piece of the engine while a young child burned their hand by picking up another bit of smoldering metal. 

The 747 jet involved in the accident in the Netherlands was using a Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engine, a smaller version of one involved in the explosion over Denver.

Dutch safety inspectors said the 747 aircraft belonged to Bermuda-based Longtail Aviation and had taken off from Maastricht airport around 4.10pm on Sunday.

The aircraft was bound for New York JFK airport and was due to pass through UK airspace, skirting Sheffield and Manchester along the way.

But it got into trouble moments after takeoff, causing debris to rain from the sky.

Meerssen, where most of the debris was found, is located just two miles from the end of the runway in Maastricht.

The 30-year-old aircraft was diverted to Liege airport, in neighbouring Belgium, but spent some time circling above the Ardennes at 10,000ft to burn fuel and lose weight before landing.

Before Boeing confirmed on Monday that all the 777s with PW4000 engines had been grounded, the FAA had called for stepped-up inspections which administrator Steve Dickson said would ‘likely mean that some airplanes will be removed from service’.   

Dickson said that his team has ‘reviewed all available safety data following [the] incident,’ and ‘based on the initial information, we concluded that the inspection interval should be stepped up for the hollow fan blades that are unique to this model of engine, used solely on Boeing 777 airplanes’. 

According to Dickson, the FAA ‘is working closely with other civil aviation authorities to make this information available to affected operators in their jurisdictions’.  

Japan separately requested that airlines avoid using Boeing 777 planes with Pratt & Whitney 4000 engines for take-offs, landings and overflights in its territory until further notice, the Japan Aeronautical Service Information Center said.

Japan said on Sunday that 32 passenger jets that use the same family of engine have been grounded. 

The planes affected by the order from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, are 13 aircraft operated by Japan Airlines. 

The other 19 planes are operated by All Nippon Airways. None of the planes were scheduled to fly on Monday. 

Japan Airlines had a similar incident occur in December 2020 after the crew requested to make an emergency landing nine minutes after taking off. The plane returned safely to Naha with none of the 178 passengers and 11 crew injured.  

Officials said at the time that the left engine experienced a malfunction at approximately 16,000-17,000 feet. 

Both announcements occurred just 24 hours after the United Airlines plane suffered catastrophic engine failure shortly after take-off.

The Boeing 777-200 aircraft, carrying 231 passengers and 10 crew on board, was heading to Honolulu on Saturday from Denver International Airport when debris struck the plane’s right engine, causing it to erupt into flames.

The captain had been giving an announcement over the intercom when a large explosion rocked the cabin, accompanied by a bright flash.

Passengers recalled their horror as they looked out the window to see engine casing and chunks of fiberglass falling from the plane, and thick black smoke emanating from the wing.

The incident forced the pilot to attempt an emergency landing back in Denver just 20 minutes after take-off, at around 1.30pm local time.

Video recorded aboard Flight UA328 captured the moment it touched back down on the runway safely, prompting the cabin to erupt in applause and cheers of relief.

Remarkably, there were no injuries reported either on board the flight or on the ground.

The plane had just taken off from Maastricht airport around 4.10pm Sunday when a fire started in one of its engines, causing metal to fall from the sky

The plane had just taken off from Maastricht airport around 4.10pm Sunday when a fire started in one of its engines, causing metal to fall from the sky

Terrified United Airlines passengers clapped in relief as their flight touched down safely in Denver on Saturday after suffering catastrophic engine failure

Remarkably, there were no injuries reported either on board the flight or on the ground

Terrified United Airlines passengers clapped in relief as their flight touched down safely in Denver on Saturday after suffering catastrophic engine failure

Video recorded by passengers aboard Flight UA328, which was carrying 231 travelers and 10 crew members, shows the engine on fire

Video recorded by passengers aboard Flight UA328, which was carrying 231 travelers and 10 crew members, shows the engine on fire

Aviation safety experts said the plane, a 26-year-old 777, appeared to have suffered an uncontained and catastrophic engine failure.

Such an event is extremely rare and happens when huge spinning discs inside the engine suffer some sort of failure and breach the armored casing around the engine that is designed to contain the damage, said John Cox, an aviation safety expert and retired airline pilot who runs an aviation safety consulting firm called Safety Operating Systems.

Pilots practice how to deal with such an event frequently and would have immediately shut off anything flammable in the engine, including fuel and hydraulic fluid, using a single switch.

In a statement to DailyMail.com, United said: ‘Flight 328 from Denver to Honolulu experienced an engine failure shortly after departure, returned safely to Denver and was met by emergency crews as a precaution.

‘We ensured our customers were comfortable and cared for at Denver International Airport while we prepared another aircraft to get them to Honolulu.

‘Those who did not wish to travel with us were provided hotel accommodations. We will continue to work with federal agencies investigating this incident.’

The airline declined to identify the pilot when pressed by DailyMail.com. Boeing, meanwhile, said its technical advisers would assist the NTSB with its investigation.

Former National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jim Hall called the incident another example of ‘cracks in our culture in aviation safety (that) need to be addressed’.

Hall, who was on the board from 1994 to 2001, has criticized the FAA over the past decade as ‘drifting toward letting the manufacturers provide the aviation oversight that the public was paying for’. 

Prior to landing safely, large chunks of debris had fallen from the plane on the Denver suburbs below, narrowly missing homes and other buildings. 

Flames could be seen coming from the engine of the plane after it exploded at 15,000 feet

Flames could be seen coming from the engine of the plane after it exploded at 15,000 feet 

The Broomfield Police Department posted photos on Twitter showing large, circular pieces of debris leaning against a house in the suburb about 25 miles north of Denver

The Broomfield Police Department posted photos on Twitter showing large, circular pieces of debris leaning against a house in the suburb about 25 miles north of Denver 

Cops in Broomfield responded to reports of objects falling from the sky on Saturday afternoon and saw huge metal objects in front lawns

Cops in Broomfield responded to reports of objects falling from the sky on Saturday afternoon and saw huge metal objects in front lawns

Passenger David Delucia recalled for the Denver Post how he grabbed his wife’s hand after hearing the explosion, telling her: ‘We’re done for.’

‘The plane started shaking violently, and we lost altitude and we started going down,’ Delucia, who sat directly across the aisle from the side with the failed engine, said. 

‘When it initially happened, I thought we were done. I thought we were going down. I thought we were going to die at one point,’ he said, adding that he and his wife took their wallets containing their driver’s licences and put them in their pockets so that ‘in case we did go down, we could be ID’d’.

In an audio recording, a United pilot could be heard making a mayday call to air traffic control.

‘Mayday, aircraft just experienced engine failure, need to turn immediately,’ the pilot said, according to audio from the monitoring website liveatc.net that was reviewed by Reuters.

Denver resident Kirby Klements was inside his home with his wife when they heard a huge booming sound.

A few seconds later, the couple saw a massive piece of debris fly past their window and into the bed of Klements’ truck, crushing the cab and pushing the vehicle into the dirt. 

This image provided by KCNC-TV in Denver shows the damage done when debris fell through the roof and into the kitchen of a home in Broomfield, Colorado on Saturday

This image provided by KCNC-TV in Denver shows the damage done when debris fell through the roof and into the kitchen of a home in Broomfield, Colorado on Saturday

Pieces of the aircraft landed on a football field as seen in the above image posted to Twitter by a local resident in Broomfield

Pieces of the aircraft landed on a football field as seen in the above image posted to Twitter by a local resident in Broomfield

Police in Broomfield released this photo showing debris from the United Airlines aircraft strewn across a football field

Police in Broomfield released this photo showing debris from the United Airlines aircraft strewn across a football field

BOEING’S 737 MAX: WHAT WENT WRONG

OCT. 29, 2018 – A Lion Air 737 MAX plane crashes in Indonesia, killing all 189 people on board

NOV. 13, 2018 – FAA, Boeing say they are evaluating the need for software or design changes to 737 MAX jets following the Lion Air crash

NOV. 30, 2018 – Boeing is weighing plans to launch a software upgrade for its 737 MAX in six to eight weeks that would help address a scenario faced by crew of Indonesia’s Lion Air, sources told Reuters

MARCH 10, 2019 – An Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crashes, killing all 157 people on board

MARCH 12, 2019 – FAA says will mandate that Boeing implement design changes on the 737 MAX by April that have been in the works for months

MARCH 13, 2019 – FAA joins other major global regulators in grounding the 737 MAX, citing evidence of similarities between the two fatal crashes

APRIL 6, 2019 – Boeing says it will cut monthly 737 MAX production by nearly 20%; U.S. and airline officials say they believe the plane could be grounded for at least two months

MAY 16, 2019 – Boeing says it has completed a software update for its 737 MAX jets and is in the process of submitting a pilot training plan to the FAA

JUNE 27, 2019 – Boeing says it will take until at least September to fix a newly identified problem with software that emerged when FAA test pilots were reviewing potential failure scenarios of the flight control computer in a 737 MAX simulator

JULY 18, 2019 – Boeing says it has assumed regulatory approval of the 737 MAX’s return to service in the United States and other jurisdictions will begin early in the fourth quarter

OCT. 24, 2019 – Boeing says it still expects FAA approval to fly the 737 MAX in the fourth quarter, sending its shares higher despite a slump in quarterly profit. FAA says it will need “several weeks” for review

NOV. 7, 2019 – U.S. and European regulators ask Boeing to revise documentation on its proposed 737 MAX software fix

NOV. 11, 2019 – Boeing says it expects the FAA to issue an order approving the plane’s return to flight in December, forecasting commercial flights to resume in January

NOV. 15, 2019 – The head of the FAA tells his team to ‘take whatever time is needed’ in their review of the 737 MAX

DEC. 11, 2019 – FAA chief Steve Dickson says 737 MAX will not be cleared to fly before the end of 2019

DEC. 12, 2019 – Boeing abandons its goal of winning regulatory approval for the 737 MAX to resume flying in December after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the plane would not be cleared to fly before 2020

DEC. 23, 2019 – Boeing fires CEO Dennis Muilenburg

JAN. 6, 2020 – An audit conducted in December reveals that wiring in the tail of the 737 MAX could short circuit and lead to a crash if pilots don’t know how to respond correctly

JAN. 9, 2020 – Boeing releases hundreds of internal messages between employees to the Congress and the FAA last week, raising serious questions about its development of simulators and showing employees may have covered up issues

JAN. 13, 2020 – Budget airliner Ryanair reveals it could receive its first deliveries of up to 10 grounded 737 MAX aircraft from Boeing by April, but cautions this will depend on the regulators

JAN. 16, 2020 – Committee, appointed by Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in April, finds the FAA safety approval process was not at fault

JAN. 21, 2020 –  Boeing announces it does not expect federal regulators to approve its changes to the grounded 737 Max until this summer, several months longer than the company was saying just a few weeks ago.

He estimated the circular engine cowling at 15 feet in diameter. Fine pieces of the fiberglass insulation used in the airplane engine fell from the sky ‘like ash’ for about 10 minutes, he said, and several large chunks of insulation landed in his backyard.

‘If it had been 10 feet different, it would have landed right on top of the house,’ he said in a phone interview with AP. ‘And if anyone had been in the truck, they would have been dead.’

The Broomfield Police Department posted photos on Twitter showing large, circular pieces of debris leaning against a house in the suburb about 25 miles north of Denver.

Additional debris was found scattered across turf field at Commons Park as well as the Northmoor and Red Leaf sections of Broomfield.

The department has urged locals not to move any debris they might find, saying they want ‘all debris to remain in place for investigation’.

Broomfield is a suburb about 25 miles north of Denver. Tyler Thal, who lives in the area, said he was out for a walk with his family when he noticed a large commercial plane flying unusually low and took his phone out to film it.

‘While I was looking at it, I saw an explosion and then the cloud of smoke and some debris falling from it,’ he said.

‘It was just like a speck in the sky and as I’m watching that, I’m telling my family what I just saw and then we heard the explosion. The plane just kind of continued on and we didn’t see it after that.’

The image above shows smoke emanating from the damaged engine on the left

The image above shows smoke emanating from the damaged engine on the left

One local resident, Kieran Cain, told CNN he was with his children at a nearby elementary school when the aircraft flew over. Seconds later, they heard a loud explosion.

‘We saw it go over, we heard the big explosion, we looked up, there was black smoke in the sky,’ Cain told CNN.

‘Debris started raining down, which you know, sort of looked like it was floating down and not very heavy, but actually now looking at it, It’s giant metal pieces all over the place.

‘I was surprised that the plane sort of continued on uninterrupted, without really altering its trajectory or doing anything,’ he said.

‘It just kind of kept going the way it was going as if nothing happened.’

One man who said he was a passenger on the flight tweeted: ‘I’m on #UA328, pilots did an amazing job because it was loud, shaking, and scary as hell back here. Fire crews have us out on the tarmac.’

Another passenger, Travis Loock, told CNN that he heard a boom about 20 minutes into the flight.

‘There was a big boom and the kind of sound you don’t want to hear when you’re on the airplane,’ said Loock, who was flying with his wife.

‘And I instantly put my shade up, and I was pretty frightened to see… the engine on my side was missing.’

‘We were just glad we weren’t over the ocean, because that’s where we were heading,’ he said.

Loock told CNN that while fear was palpable on board, everyone was ‘very calm’ when the explosion took place.

‘A lot of people couldn’t see the engine on that side, right, so I was a little more freaked out because I could see it, and I knew that was not right,’ he said.

TROUBLED HISTORY OF THE ‘TRIPLE SEVEN’: A TIMELINE OF BOEING 777’S WORST ACCIDENTS

Since the American-made Boeing 777 wide-body jet airliner made its maiden flight in June 1994, it has been involved in 29 aviation incidents and accidents that have claimed the lives of 541 people.

Of these, three were hijackings while eight involved hull losses – or ‘total loss’ of the aircraft.

Five of the hull losses were in-flight while three were on-ground incidents.

British Airways Flight 38 – January 17, 2008 

Crash investigators inspect wreckage and debris from grounded British Airways Flight 38 at Heathrow Airport on January 18, 2008

Crash investigators inspect wreckage and debris from grounded British Airways Flight 38 at Heathrow Airport on January 18, 2008

A British Airways plane crash-landed at Heathrow Airport, slightly injuring 47 passengers and triggering an inquiry into why the Boeing 777 flying in from Beijing landed short of the runway. 

Fire engines smothered the aircraft in foam after the landing at the world’s busiest international airport extensively damaged its wings and ripped off its undercarriage.

Aviation commentators said the fact that the plane only just cleared the perimeter fence, hit the ground well short of the runway and then slid to a halt pointed to a massive loss of power in the final stages of landing.

The wheels of the plane, which had a routine maintenance check just a month prior, were still in the field where it crashed, several hundred yards from the runway.

There were no fatalities.

EgyptAir Flight 667 – July 29, 2011 

The image above shows damage on the nose section of EgyptAir Flight 667 in Cairo after a fire tore through the cockpit before it was set to depart for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in July 2011

The image above shows damage on the nose section of EgyptAir Flight 667 in Cairo after a fire tore through the cockpit before it was set to depart for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in July 2011

An EgyptAir Boeing 777-200 was evacuated at Cairo International Airport after a fire started in the cockpit while preparing to depart. 

All 307 passengers survived but the fire, thought to have been started by an electrical fault, damaged the plane beyond repair. 

Seven people were treated for smoke inhalation. The flight was destined to land in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 

Asiana Airlines Flight 214 – July 6, 2013 

The wreckage of Asiana Flight 214 lies on the ground after it crashed at the San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco in this July 6, 2013 aerial photo

The wreckage of Asiana Flight 214 lies on the ground after it crashed at the San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco in this July 6, 2013 aerial photo

Two teenage girls were killed and more than 180 people were injured when a flight operated by South Korean carrier Asiana Airlines crashed while landing at San Francisco airport.

Two passengers who were not wearing seatbelts were ejected from the aircraft during the crash and were killed.

The Boeing 777, which was carrying 291 passengers and 16 crew, was flown from Seoul to San Francisco.

An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board faulted the pilots and crew for relying too much on automated systems and for incorrectly flying the plane during landing. 

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 – March 8, 2014 

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 became one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries when it vanished on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

The Boeing 777-200ER went missing with 239 people on board. Malaysia, China, and Australia called off a two-year $130million underwater search in the southern Indian Ocean in January 2017 after finding no trace of the aircraft.

A second three-month search, led by Ocean Infinity, ended similarly in May the following year.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 – July 17, 2014 

Recovery workers in rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine load debris from the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in November 2014 - four months after the plane was shot down

Recovery workers in rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine load debris from the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in November 2014 – four months after the plane was shot down 

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014 when it was shot down by a missile fired from territory held by pro-Moscow rebels amid fighting in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 aboard. Russia has denied any involvement. 

A Dutch-led international Joint Investigation (JIT) team spent years collecting evidence before issuing arrest warrants in 2019 for the four suspects: Russians Sergey Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov and Igor Girkin, and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko.

A hearing on the merits of the trial is scheduled to start this month. 

British Airways Flight 2276 – September 8, 2015 

The image above from September 2015 shows a British Airways Boeing 777 airliner burst into flames on the runway at Las Vegas McCarran Airport

The image above from September 2015 shows a British Airways Boeing 777 airliner burst into flames on the runway at Las Vegas McCarran Airport

A British Airways jetliner engine caught fire in Las Vegas as the plane was about to take off for London, forcing all 172 passengers and crew to escape down emergency slides as smoke and flames engulfed the aircraft.

Several passengers needed hospital treatment for minor injuries after the Boeing 777’s aborted takeoff, with one of those present saying smoke caused people to rush to the front of the plane, sparking scenes of panic. 

Singapore Airlines Flight 368 – June 26, 2016 

A Singapore Airlines Ltd (SIA) flight to Milan caught fire after returning to Singapore’s Changi airport following an engine oil warning message, but all passengers were safe. 

The aircraft’s right engine caught fire after the aircraft, a Boeing 777-300ER, touched down at Changi airport at around 6:50am on June 26, 2016. Emergency services put out the fire and there were no injuries to the 222 passengers and 19 crew on board.

The SIA flight, SQ368, departed at 2:05am, but about two hours into the flight the pilot announced there was an engine problem and the flight would return to Singapore. 

Emirates Flight 521 – August 3, 2016

The image above shows Emirates Flight 521 after it crashed while attempting to abort a landing in Dubai after flying in from India in August 2016

The image above shows Emirates Flight 521 after it crashed while attempting to abort a landing in Dubai after flying in from India in August 2016

An Emirates passenger jet crashed while attempting to abort a landing in Dubai

All 300 passengers and crew were safely evacuated but a firefighter died tackling flames after the Boeing 777-300, arriving from India, caught fire after skidding along the Dubai airport runway on its fuselage.

It was the first major accident in Emirates’ more-than-30-year history. 

All 300 passengers and crew safely evacuated the jet but a firefighter died tackling flames after the Boeing 777-300, arriving from India, caught fire after skidding along the Dubai airport runway on its fuselage.

Investigators said the pilot failed to notice that the Boeing 777’s engine thrust settings remained too low and cut short a procedure. 

Ethiopian Airlines cargo plane on the ground in Shanghai – July 22, 2020 

Terrifying footage has captured the moment a Boeing 777 engulfed by a huge blaze and smoke at an airport in China. The Ethiopian Airlines cargo plane caught fire at around 4pm on July 22, 2020

Terrifying footage has captured the moment a Boeing 777 engulfed by a huge blaze and smoke at an airport in China. The Ethiopian Airlines cargo plane caught fire at around 4pm on July 22, 2020

A Boeing 777 plane burst into flames today in front of shocked passengers while being parked in one of the busiest airports in China.

The cargo plane belonging to Ethiopian Airlines caught fire at around 4pm local time on the tarmac of Shanghai Pudong International Airport, according to authorities.

The fire was put off about an hour later, said the local authorities. No injuries or deaths were reported.

Shocking footage shows smoke and flames engulfing the Boeing 777 while several emergency vehicles were rushing towards the burning aircraft.