Debris from a United Airlines plane fell onto the ground during an emergency landing on Saturday.
The plane was forced to make an emergency landing after one of its engines burst into flames and suffered engine failure.
Officials confirmed that the full investigation into the engine failure could take longer than a year. However, an initial probe of the incident has yielded some early findings by officials, reports CNN.
Before heading to Hawaii from Colorado, investigators report that the Pratt & Whitney engine failed within minutes. After the scary incident, United Airlines has grounded all Boeing 777s powered by PW4000 series engines.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, a preliminary investigation confirms the damage was "consistent with metal fatigue."
"Pratt & Whitney is actively coordinating with operators and regulators to support the revised inspection interval of the Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines that power Boeing 777 aircraft," Pratt & Whitney said in a statement. "Any further investigative updates regarding this event will be at the discretion of the NTSB. Pratt & Whitney will continue to work to ensure the safe operation of the fleet."
After the incident, the NTSB arrived in Colorado and began removing debris to a hangar for further investigation. Broomfield Police posted the pictures and captioned the post, "We've had a lot of requests to see the pieces of plane our officers have collected over the past 2 days. Here's a look. #UAL328."
Boeing has recommended suspending the use of 777s that have a Pratt & Whitney 4000 engine, and United Airlines has already pulled them from service.
The FAA said it would do more inspections of Boeing 777 airplanes built with certain Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines.
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