EgyptAir grounds 4 Boeing 777-200 aircraft after Colorado engine failure incident

CAIRO – 22 February 2021: Flag carrier EgyptAir announced on Monday grounding four of its of its Boeing 777-200 aircraft, two days after a United Airlines plane of the same type had an engine failure over Colorado, United States.

The plane managed to return and land safely on Saturday local time at Denver International Airport with 231 passengers and 10 crew on board. The plane’s right engine failed and shed debris.

The Egyptian flag carrier said it would suspend the Boeing 777-200 aircraft equipped with the Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines, the type of engine involved in the Denver incident.

The US Federal Aviation Administration on Sunday urged "immediate or stepped-up inspections" of Boeing 777 aircraft with the same engine type. Boeing agreed with the decision and urged the temporary suspension of all of its 777 aircraft with that engine.

EgyptAir said it would ground the four planes based on the recommendations of Boeing and the FAA, until the appropriate inspection protocol for the engines of this type is issued and implemented.

The Egyptian company affirmed that its decision is not applied on its six Boeing 777-300 planes, which are equipped with another model of engines.