Damage to a fan blade on an engine that failed on a United Airlines Boeing 777 flight is consistent with metal fatigue, based on a preliminary assessment, the chairman of the U.S. air accident investigator said on Monday.
The Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engine failed on Saturday with a “loud bang” four minutes after takeoff from Denver, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Robert Sumwalt told reporters following an initial analysis of the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder.