United 777 lost cowling due to fan blade 'separation': NTSB

Separation of an engine fan blade caused a United Airlines Boeing 777-200 enroute to Honolulu to lose its engine cowling Feb 13, according to a preliminary report released March 5 by the US NTSB. The new information reveals that the incident involved more than the straightforward loss of the cowling. The aircraft "experienced an in-flight separation of a fan blade and subsequent loss of the inlet and fan cowls of the right engine, a Pratt & Whitney PW4077, during descent into" Honolulu, says the NTSB's preliminary review. The pilots received warnings of "an engine compressor stall" shortly after starting descent, at about 32,700ft altitude, the report says. "The crew declared an emergency and proceeded to [Honolulu] without further incident." <br/>