Britain has joined a growing list of countries grounding Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) 777 aircraft using Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines after a plane using the engine type suffered a failure on Saturday that sent debris raining down over the US city of Denver, Colorado.
Boeing 777s with the same engine as the one which caught fire will be temporarily banned from entering UK airspace said Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.
In a statement on Sunday, the aircraft maker said it was “actively monitoring” events related to United Airlines Flight 328 and recommended suspending operations of the 69 in-service and 59 in-storage aircraft using the Pratt & Whitney engines until US aviation regulators defined an appropriate inspection protocol.
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The company also said it supported a decision by Japanese authorities to ground the aircraft, while United Airlines has also decided to suspend flights of the aircraft pending inspection.
Flight 328 was forced to make an emergency landing in Denver en-route to Hawaii after its right engine failed, sending debris falling across a nearby residential area.
Despite the failure, all 231 passengers on the flight were unharmed as a result of the incident, nor was anyone struck by the falling engine parts on the ground below.
The incident marks another blow for Boeing, which previously saw its 737 MAX model of aircraft grounded for a year and a half following two fatal crashes that left 346 people dead.
Shares in Boeing slumped 3.9% to US$209 in pre-market trading in New York on Monday.
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