NEW YORK: Boeing confirmed Monday that dozens of its 777 aircraft were grounded worldwide, while Britain announced a temporary ban on those jets following a weekend scare involving a United Airlines plane in Colorado.
The incident on the flight out of Denver -- which quickly returned to the airport after part of the engine caught fire and broke off -- prompted United and other airlines to ground the planes with the same Pratt & Whitney engine.
While no one was injured in the Denver incident, the episode is the latest setback for Boeing, which only recently resumed deliveries of the long-grounded 737 MAX following two fatal crashes of that plane.
Shares of Boeing shook off early weakness Monday as aviation experts said the incident mostly raised pointed questions about Pratt & Whitney and United over engine maintenance. "It's nothing like the MAX," said Teal Group aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia. "After all these years of service it is unlikely to be a design issue with the engine, certainly it is something to do with maintenance."
Boeing said all 128 of the 777 models with Pratt & Whitney engines were grounded following Saturday's emergency landing of United flight 328 to Hawaii.
"I have just had confirmation that all the 777s equipped with this engine have been grounded," a spokeswoman for the planemaker told AFP in a text message on Monday.
And British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced a temporary ban on jets with Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 series engines from entering UK airspace. "I will continue to work closely with the (UK Civil Aviation Authority) to monitor the situation," he tweeted.
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