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The U.S. plane maker Boeing said it supported decisions by airline regulators in Japan and the U.S. to suspend operations of 128 of its 777 aircrafts powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines.
- A 777 airplane had to make an emergency landing in Denver, Colorado on Saturday, after an engine malfunction made it shed debris over one of the city’s suburban areas.
- Federal Aviation Administration director Steve Dickson said on Sunday that “immediate or stepped-up inspections” of the airplane were now required.
- Boeing BA, +0.56% said that 69 Boeing 777s powered by the incriminated engine were currently in use and 59 in storage, due to reduced air traffic brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- United Airlines UAL, +6.76% said hours before the Boeing news release that it would voluntarily and temporarily remove its own 24 affected airplanes.
The outlook: The suspension of the 777s will have a reduced impact on air travel because of the continuing pandemic. But it hits Boeing just as the company was recovering from the 18-month grounding of its 737 aircraft after two such planes crashed in October 2019 and March 2019, killing 346 passengers and crew.
