Islamabad: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will continue to fly its Boeing 777 fleet that includes a different type of aircraft powered by General Electric engines and not the ones that caught fire in the US.
PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez said that PIA’s long-range Boeing 777 aircraft are equipped with the General Electric engines that are considered to be the safest. PIA’s current fleet of 29 aircraft includes 12 Boeing 777s (777-300ER, 777-200ER and 777-240LR), 11 Airbus A320 and six ATR planes.
The statement from Pakistan’s national carrier came after the engine of a Boeing 777 failed mid-air and caught fire, scattering debris over the suburb of the US city of Denver last weekend. The passenger plane, however, landed safely at Denver International Airport.
Following the incident, Boeing company recommended that airlines ground all 777s powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines that were involved in the United Airlines Flight 328 incident. “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,” Boeing said in a February 21 statement.
Airlines in the US, UK and Japan have grounded dozens of Boeing 777 aircraft after the dramatic engine failure and the manufacturer’s recommendation to ground all 120 planes as the investigation continues.
