《TAIPEI TIMES》 CAL, EVA detail their fleets after Denver incident

By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

Neither China Airlines （CAL） nor EVA Airways have Boeing 777-200 planes in their fleets, the two airlines said yesterday.

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The airlines told reporters that they do not have Boeing 777-200 aircraft in their fleets, adding that none of the aircraft they own use Pratt & Whitney PW4000-series engines either.

Their Boeing 777 aircraft are Boeing 777-300ER models, they said.

They clarified the models in their fleet after United Airlines Flight UA328 to Honolulu experienced engine failure soon after departing from Denver International Airport on Saturday afternoon, with broken engine parts raining down on suburban neighborhoods.

The flight landed safely at the airport in Denver, and no one was hurt.

Passengers on board told reporters that they had heard a loud explosion soon after takeoff, with one of them posting a video online showing the engine on fire after the explosion.

The incident prompted the US Federal Aviation Administration （FAA） to issue an “emergency airworthiness directive” on Sunday, requiring “immediate or stepped-up inspection of Boeing 777 airplanes equipped with certain Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines,” FAA administrator Steve Dickson said in a statement posted on the agency’s Twitter account.

“It will likely mean that some airplanes will be removed from service,” Dickson said.

“We reviewed all available safety data following yesterday’s incident. Based on the initial information, we concluded that the inspection interval should be stepped up for hollow fan blades that are unique to this model of engine, used solely on Boeing 777 airplanes,” he added.

On Sunday, the Japanese government banned Boeing 777 aircraft equipped with PW4000 engines from departing or landing at Japanese airports or flying through the country’s airspace.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES