Boeing said it supports the decision by Japan's civil aviation authority and the US transportation agency to suspend all wide body 777 models equipped with Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines after debris fell from United Airlines Flight.
"While the NTSB investigation is ongoing, we recommended suspending operations of the 69 in-service and 59 in-storage 777s powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines until the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) identifies the appropriate inspection protocol," it said in a statement late Sunday.
"We are working with these regulators as they take actions while these planes are on the ground and further inspections are conducted by Pratt & Whitney."
Japan ordered a halt to all flights of Boeing 777s equipped with similar engines to United which failed over Denver, dropping debris over a Denver suburb but with no reported injuries.
US aviation regulators have ordered emergency inspections of the model’s fan blades. The FAA ordered inspections after examining the hollow fan blade that failed, it said on Sunday evening. The inspections apply to Boeing 777s equipped with PW4000 engines made by Raytheon Technologies' Pratt & Whitney division.
The majority of Boeing 777s are powered by General Electric GE90 and Rolls-Royce Trent 800engines.
On Sunday, Japan’s Transport Ministry ordered ANA Holdings and Japan Airlines to ground Boeing 777 planes they operate after the United Airlines incident. ANA operates 19 planes and JAL 13 with similar engines to that which failed on the United Airlines plane.
United said it would voluntarily halt operations of 24 of its planes while the FAA order was carried out.
FAA administrator Steven Dickson said the aggressive inspections "will likely mean that some airplanes will be removed from service".
A Japan Airlines 777-200 with Pratt & Whitney engines suffered a similar failure on December 4.
"After consulting with my team of aviation safety experts about yesterday’s engine failure aboard a Boeing 777 airplane in Denver, I have directed them to issue an emergency airworthiness directive that would require immediate or stepped-up inspections of Boeing 777 airplanes equipped with certain Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines," Mr Dickson said.
Separately on Saturday, pieces of metal fell above Meerssen in the Netherlands from a Boeing 747-400 freighter plane bound for New York, after an engine fire shortly following take off from Maastricht, according to Longtail Aviation. Two people were reportedly injured.
"Our flight crew dealt with this situation professionally and in accordance with the correct aviation standards, resulting in a safe and uneventful landing," said Martin Amick, Accountable Manager for Longtail Aviation. "We are now in the process of working closely with the Dutch, Belgian, Bermuda and UK authorities to understand the cause of this incident."
The aircraft continued to fly on 3 engines and landed in Liège. Jumbo 747s are equipped with four engines and can continue flying if one of the engines fails.
"A few seconds after the plane took off, air traffic control found an engine fire and informed the pilots of the plane. They then switched off the engine concerned and sent out an emergency signal," Maastricht Aachen Airport said in a statement.
"What exactly happened that caused the engine fire is not yet clear at this time. The Dutch Safety Board and Aviation Police are investigating this, to which we and the airline are cooperating fully. We want to await these studies and do not want to anticipate the results by speculating."
Boeing, the largest US plane maker, was just turning a corner after the UAE, Canada, the US and Brazil approved over the past two months the return of its 737 Max jets to commercial service, following two fatal plane crashes that led to the global grounding of the aircraft in March 2019.
The crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia killed a total of 346 people. They triggered a string of investigations and led to reforms in aircraft certification methods and cost Boeing nearly $20 billion.
In January, Boeing posted its biggest annual loss as the Covid-19 pandemic and the 737 Max ban weighed on its business prospects. The company posted a net loss of $11.9bn last year, widening from $636 million in 2019.
Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
Zed Books
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers Pickford (Everton), Pope (Burnley), Henderson (Manchester United)
Defenders Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Chilwell (Chelsea), Coady (Wolves), Dier (Tottenham), Gomez (Liverpool), James (Chelsea), Keane (Everton), Maguire (Manchester United), Maitland-Niles (Arsenal), Mings (Aston Villa), Saka (Arsenal), Trippier (Atletico Madrid), Walker (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Foden (Manchester City), Henderson (Liverpool), Grealish (Aston Villa), Mount (Chelsea), Rice (West Ham), Ward-Prowse (Southampton), Winks (Tottenham)
Forwards: Abraham (Chelsea), Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Kane (Tottenham), Rashford (Manchester United), Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Sterling (Manchester City)
'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
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RESULTS
Bantamweight
Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK)
(Split decision)
Featherweight
Hussein Salim (IRQ) beat Shakhriyor Juraev (UZB)
(Round 1 submission, armbar)
Catchweight 80kg
Rashed Dawood (UAE) beat Otabek Kadirov (UZB)
(Round-1 submission, rear naked choke)
Lightweight
Ho Taek-oh (KOR) beat Ronald Girones (CUB)
(Round 3 submission, triangle choke)
Lightweight
Arthur Zaynukov (RUS) beat Damien Lapilus (FRA)
(Unanimous points)
Bantamweight
Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (RUS)
(Round 1 TKO)
Featherweight
Movlid Khaybulaev (RUS) v Zaka Fatullazade (AZE)
(Round 1 rear naked choke)
Flyweight
Shannon Ross (TUR) beat Donovon Freelow (USA)
(Unanimous decision)
Lightweight
Dan Collins (GBR) beat Mohammad Yahya (UAE)
(Round 2 submission D’arce choke)
Catchweight 73kg
Martun Mezhulmyan (ARM) beat Islam Mamedov (RUS)
(Round 3 submission, kneebar)
Bantamweight world title
Xavier Alaoui (MAR) beat Jaures Dea (CAM)
(Unanimous points 48-46, 49-45, 49-45)
Flyweight world title
Manon Fiorot (FRA) v Gabriela Campo (ARG)
(Round 1 RSC)
School counsellors on mental well-being
Schools counsellors in Abu Dhabi have put a number of provisions in place to help support pupils returning to the classroom next week.
Many children will resume in-person lessons for the first time in 10 months and parents previously raised concerns about the long-term effects of distance learning.
Schools leaders and counsellors said extra support will be offered to anyone that needs it. Additionally, heads of years will be on hand to offer advice or coping mechanisms to ease any concerns.
“Anxiety this time round has really spiralled, more so than from the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Priya Mitchell, counsellor at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.
“Some have got used to being at home don’t want to go back, while others are desperate to get back.
“We have seen an increase in depressive symptoms, especially with older pupils, and self-harm is starting younger.
“It is worrying and has taught us how important it is that we prioritise mental well-being.”
Ms Mitchell said she was liaising more with heads of year so they can support and offer advice to pupils if the demand is there.
The school will also carry out mental well-being checks so they can pick up on any behavioural patterns and put interventions in place to help pupils.
At Raha International School, the well-being team has provided parents with assessment surveys to see how they can support students at home to transition back to school.
“They have created a Well-being Resource Bank that parents have access to on information on various domains of mental health for students and families,” a team member said.
“Our pastoral team have been working with students to help ease the transition and reduce anxiety that [pupils] may experience after some have been nearly a year off campus.
"Special secondary tutorial classes have also focused on preparing students for their return; going over new guidelines, expectations and daily schedules.”
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
