US orders fix on jets to prevent possible runway mishaps

Defense News: WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - U.S. aviation regulators required airlines on Tuesday to install new software on certain Boeing Co (BA.N) 777 jetliners to prevent possible runway overruns during takeoff.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the directive covering more than 800 planes worldwide is intended to prevent the autopilot from engaging inadvertently during the slower portion of the takeoff roll.

There are reports of nine aborted takeoffs related to the autopilot malfunction since 1995, two of them in January, the FAA said.

There have been no accidents or injuries related to the problem, but the FAA said the matter could cause a plane to run off the end of a runway, if not corrected.

Regulators and Boeing have agreed that airlines should comply with the directive over the next three months, the FAA said.

Boeing said it has already alerted airlines about the software fix.

The order affects about 145 777s in the United States. Another 650 planes would be covered if regulators overseas adopt the U.S. directive for their airlines, which is a common practice. (Reporting by John Crawley; editing by Carol Bishopric)