Japan grounds Boeing 777s ; orders domestic carriers to ground them

Tokyo: Following an incident involving a Boeing 777 causing concern, Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has grounded the aircraft by ordering domestic carriers to halt flights with the aircraft, local media reported Monday.

A Boeing 777 engine had failed shortly after take off in the United States, in an incident that rang alarm bills in the transport ministry, Xinhua reported.

The United Airlines' Boeing 777-200 aircraft, on a flight from Denver, Colorado, lost large engine parts that fell onto a residential area. However, the plane managed to land safely, local officials and media reports said.

Japan's order to halt operations of Boeing 777s was conveyed to All Nippon Airways, which has 19 Boeing 777 jets with the same type of engine among its fleet, and Japan Airlines which has 13 of the jets.

While the ministry order to ground the aircraft would remain in place until checks and other measures are completed, both carriers said other models would replace them and regular flight schedules would remain unaffected.

In December last year, after a Japan Airlines Boeing 777 was forced to make an emergency landing due to engine damage at Naha airport in Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, the transport ministry ordered Japanese airline companies to increase inspection work on all of their Boeing 777s.

The ministry is also working with the US Federal Aviation Administration and gathering information on the incident.

(Based on IANS feed with minor edits)