F.A.A. Orders Inspections on Boeing 777 Jets After Engine Failure

The 777 is a large, twin-aisle plane typically used to fly long distances. Its first passenger flight, operated by United, was in 1995. So far, Boeing has delivered more than 1,600 of the jets to customers around the world, roughly 200 of which are freighters. Only 174 of the 1,600 jets were equipped with Pratt & Whitney engines, the last of which was delivered to the South Korean carrier Asiana Airlines in 2013. More than 1,250 of the jets were equipped with engines made by GE Aviation, with the remaining using engines made by Rolls-Royce.

In recent years, airlines have increasingly favored smaller, single-aisle planes, a trend accelerated by the pandemic, throughout which few people have been flying internationally.

The Sunday F.A.A. order came hours after Japan’s aviation authority told All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines to stop using 777s equipped with the Pratt & Whitney engine.

“We have ordered that operation of the planes be stopped while we consider the necessity of additional measures,” the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure Transport and Tourism wrote in an announcement on its website.

In the statement, the ministry said it had ordered the airlines to increase engine inspections after a “serious incident” on Dec. 4 involving a 777 with a Pratt & Whitney engine. Soon after departing from Naha airport in Okinawa that day, Japan Airlines Flight 904 turned around because of a problem with its left engine, according to the ministry. A subsequent investigation by the ministry discovered damage to the engine’s fan blades and cowling.

In late January, the ministry concluded that the episode was caused by metal fatigue in the fan blades and issued an order for domestic airlines to step up inspections of similarly built engines. The engine on that Dec. 4 flight was a Pratt and Whitney PW4074.

A spokesman for Japan Airlines said the airline had decided on Sunday — before the aviation authority issued its order — to stop using the 13 Boeing 777s in its fleet equipped with the Pratt & Whitney engines. Only three scheduled flights were affected. The airline last year said it planned to remove all 13 planes from its fleet by early 2022. The airline also operates 22 Boeing 777s equipped with engines from GE Aviation, which are unaffected by the order.