Asiana grounds Boeing 777s after Denver engine incident, Korean Air expected to follow suit

Asiana Airlines Inc. has grounded all of its Boeing 777 passenger jets and Korean Air Lines Co. is expected to do the same following a recent engine failure incident in the US.

The Honolulu-bound United Airlines B777-200 plane suffered an engine failure after taking off, resulting in parts of the plane being scattered in Denver.

The United Airlines plane landed safely without any injuries on the plane or the ground.

Boeing Co. recommended that its clients from South Korea, the US, and Japan ground its 777 jets equipped with the Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engine.

Korean Air operates six out of 16 B777 jets with the Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engine on routes to Southeast Asia and Japan. It is expected to ground the jets.

A Korean Air spokeswoman said they are consulting with Boeing and the transport ministry on the planes' grounding although there is yet no recommendation from the authorities.

Meanwhile, Asiana has voluntarily grounded nine B777 jets mated with the aforementioned engine since Monday afternoon.

Korean Air's budget carrier unit Jin Air Co., which operates four B777 planes, is awaiting a recommendation from the ministry.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has begun investigating the accident and is focusing on the engine failure's cause.