B777 engine failure sparks concerns
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B777
By Nam Hyun-woo
The emergency landing of a Korea Air jet has called the safety of the B777-300ER passenger aircraft into question. Passengers are becoming concerned about the recurring safety problems of the aircraft.
Korea’s transportation authorities said that an engine problem caused the incident.
On July 2, the jet, bound for Incheon International Airport from Chicago with 273 passengers on board, made the emergency landing at a far eastern Russian airport after only seven hours of flight.
All passengers and crew members disembarked safely and the plane returned to its original destination on July 3 at 6:40 a.m. (KST), 14 hours later than the estimated time of arrival, with another aircraft sent by the carrier three hours after the jet touched down.
The captain of the plane reported to the authorities of Anadyr Airport (Ugolny Airport) in Siberia, Chukotka, that the oil pressure of the left engine suddenly plunged, compelling it to make the emergency landing at around 2 p.m. (KST), according to Korean Air.
After engineers of Korean Air replaced the malfunctioned left engine, Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the carrier launched an investigation into the incident and found the gearbox in the engine, built by General Electric (GE), was the reason for the problem.
Cause of mid-flight failure
According to the ministry, an oil chip detection system found that small metal powder from the gearbox was circulating in the engine oil. The gearbox transfers power from the engine to run fuel pumps and other vital engine functions. Failure causes the engine to stop functioning.
B777-300ER is a one of the latest twin-engine jets that began service in 2004. The jet in question was introduced in June.
There are 537 aircrafts in service globally using the same engine and there were two separate incidents of the GE engine failing in mid-flight.
One was on an Air China airliner in May and another was on a Russian carrier, Aeroflot Flight, in February. In both cases, the planes were able to continue flying using the other engine.
Spurred by two mid-flight failures, GE admitted then that its engines may have problems and advised airlines flying the model to fix their 118 engines made between September and March to avoid the risk of both engines shutting down. It has accordingly sent replacement parts to the airlines.
When Korean Air brought up the issue of the touched-down plane, Boeing replaced the problematic parts in the engine, but that did not stop the engine from failing again mid-flight.
The carrier signed a memorandum of understanding with Boeing to buy six such models to be delivered from 2016.
The ministry said it ordered the carrier to report the malfunction to Boeing and the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration and to send the problematic engine to the manufacturer.
Humble compensation
Meanwhile, the carrier compensated the 273 travelers, including 94 Koreans, with discount coupons worth 100,000 won ($87.5) for economy class passengers and 140,000-won coupons for business class for use in the carrier.
Passengers complained that “the incident ruined our travel schedule and exhausted us, but the compensation is too small.”
An official at Korean Air said, “The incident was not a fault of the carrier but the engine manufacturer, so the compensation was made only for the delay.”
The ministry said that the damage on the operating loss of the carrier and compensation costs for passengers will be paid by Boeing under a contract with the carrier and the manufacturer.
The carrier faced similar complaints in May when a jet, bound for China, was delayed for over four hours due to maintenance of the plane, but the carrier compensated passengers with only discount coupons worth 30,000 won and some free snacks.
One of the travelers heading for China argued that “the biggest reason for paying pricy ticket costs for air travel is flight is faster than any other transportation. If it takes hours of delay, there is no reason to pay for it. I will demand a full compensation from the carrier.”