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Boeing is facing renewed pressure from regulators and airlines after one of its 777 jets suffered a dramatic engine failure shortly after takeoff from Denver on Saturday.
The plane, which was carrying 231 passengers and 10 crew members, was en route to Honolulu when its right engine burst into flames and showered debris over a suburban area. The pilot managed to land the plane safely at Denver International Airport, and no one on board or on the ground was injured.
The incident prompted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to order emergency inspections of all Boeing 777s equipped with the same type of engine, the Pratt & Whitney PW4000. Boeing also recommended that airlines suspend operations of the affected planes until the inspections are completed.
The engine failure is the latest in a series of setbacks for Boeing, which has been struggling to recover from the grounding of its 737 Max jets following two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. The company has also faced delays and technical issues with its 787 Dreamliner and its Starliner spacecraft.
The FAA said it was working closely with Boeing and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to investigate the cause of the engine failure. The NTSB said it had recovered the engine's fan blade, which appeared to have broken off, and the engine cowling, which had detached from the plane.
Boeing said it was supporting the regulators and the airlines in addressing the issue. "We are working with these regulators as they take actions while these planes are on the ground and further inspections are conducted by Pratt & Whitney," the company said in a statement.
