The Incidents that led to the JAL B777-200 Fleet Retirement !
► On Dec. 4th, an engine (P&W 4000) on a JAL (Japan Airlines) B777-200 aircraft (JA8978) operating a Naha to Haneda flight experienced fan blade failure, forcing the aircraft to make an emergency landing.
► Then came the dramatic incident of debris spitting United Airlines incident involving an engine failure on February 20, this time also the engine was P&W 4000 mounted to a Boeing B777-200 aircraft.
The Response .
In response to these two incidents, Japan Airlines had suspended the operations of Boeing 777 equipped with identical P&W manufactured engines in the month of February.
Now, as of yesterday, Japan Airlines (JAL) said , it had retired its fleet of 13 Boeing B777s with Pratt & Whitney engines a year earlier than planned.
The statement :
“JAL has decided to accelerate the retirement of all P&W equipped Boeing 777 by March 2021, which (was) originally planned by March 2022,” the Japanese airline said on Monday in a notice on its website.
As there are no known report to resume the operation of P&W equipped Boeing 777, and it is hard to foresee the situation as of today, JAL has decided to accelerate the retirement of all P&W equipped Boeing 777 by March 2021, which is originally planned by March 2022.
The Replacement Plan :
JAL said it would use newer Airbus A350s on domestic routes to Osaka’s Itami Airport and use international planes for other domestic routes to help maintain flight frequencies.
The engines are found on only a small number of older 777s operated by JAL, United Airlines Holdings Inc, ANA Holdings Inc, Korean Air Lines Co Ltd, Asiana Airlines Inc and Jin Air Co Ltd.
The FAA Disposition :
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in February had ordered immediate inspection of 777 planes with PW4000 engines before further flights after the National Transportation Safety Board found a cracked fan blade on the United flight was consistent with metal fatigue.
The Engine manufacturer (OEM) :
A spokeswoman for Pratt, owned by Raytheon Technologies Corp, in February said fan blades would need to be shipped to its repair station in East Hartford, Connecticut, for inspection, including those from airlines in Japan and South Korea.
The Aviation Experts :
Aviation experts had the opinion that, the airlines might speed up retirement of theese Older versions of B777 aircrafts, as a result of the need for additional inspections with less frequency.
