Neither China Airlines (CAL) nor EVA Airways have Boeing 777-200 planes in their fleets, the two airlines said yesterday.
The airlines told reporters that they do not have Boeing 777-200 aircraft in their fleets, adding that none of the aircraft they own use Pratt & Whitney PW4000-series engines either.
Their Boeing 777 aircraft are Boeing 777-300ER models, they said.
Photo: Hayden Smith / EPA-EFE
They clarified the models in their fleet after United Airlines Flight UA328 to Honolulu experienced engine failure soon after departing from Denver International Airport on Saturday afternoon, with broken engine parts raining down on suburban neighborhoods.
The flight landed safely at the airport in Denver, and no one was hurt.
Passengers on board told reporters that they had heard a loud explosion soon after takeoff, with one of them posting a video online showing the engine on fire after the explosion.
The incident prompted the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue an “emergency airworthiness directive” on Sunday, requiring “immediate or stepped-up inspection of Boeing 777 airplanes equipped with certain Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines,” FAA administrator Steve Dickson said in a statement posted on the agency’s Twitter account.
“This will likely mean that some airplanes will be removed from service,” Dickson said.
“We reviewed all available safety data following yesterday’s incident. Based on the initial information, we concluded that the inspection interval should be stepped up for hollow fan blades that are unique to this model of engine, used solely on Boeing 777 airplanes,” he added.
On Sunday, the Japanese government banned Boeing 777 aircraft equipped with PW4000 engines from departing or landing at Japanese airports or flying through the country’s airspace.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
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Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard