Boeing 777 emergency landing in Moscow after engine problem

Russia’s Boeing 777 engine from Russia had to make an emergency landing in Moscow on Friday, a week after a spectacular reactor incident on a similar plane in the United States.

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“During Cargo Flight 4520 Hong Kong-Madrid, a fault in the engine control sensor was detected,” the company said in a statement sent to AFP, “Staff decided to make a landing emergency at Moscow airport in Sheremetyevo.”

“The landing was normal. The flight will return to Madrid after 12:00 (09:00 GMT),” said Rosia, a subsidiary of the Russian state-owned Aeroflot.

According to websites specializing in flight tracking, the dubious aircraft is a Boeing 777-300ER.

Rosia later told AFP that all of his Boeing 777-300ERs were fitted with GE90 engines from the US manufacturer General Electric (GE).

GE assured that its technical teams were “working with the company” and that the aircraft had already “returned to service”, according to a message sent to AFP.

Made by Pratt & Whitney, GE’s engine is a different model from those involved in last week’s accident in the United States.

The Boeing 777’s reactor, operated by United Airlines, caught fire shortly after takeoff from Denver (western United States) and lost its fairing. As the plane was returning to the airport, a shower of debris fell on a residential area on the outskirts of Denver.

The Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines were selected by more than 120 Boeing 777s worldwide after this amazing event.

This is another blow to Boeing, whose new medium, the 737 MAX, was severely damaged by the setbacks, killing 346 people in two close accidents and banning flying for almost two years.

Neither Boeing nor the United States Aviation Authority (FAA) wanted to comment specifically on the Russian airline flight.

Engine failures are not uncommon in civil aviation and equipment is certified to travel several hours in one engine on arrival at the airport. A potential hazard arises when an engine explodes, in which debris can damage the rest of the aircraft.