FAA Mandates Inspections On Early Models Of The Boeing 737 Aircraft

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FAA Mandates Inspections On Early Models Of The Boeing 737 Aircraft By Jim Douglas

		April 5, 2011 - The FAA will issue an emergency directive today that will require operators of specific early Boeing 737 models to conduct initial and repetitive electromagnetic inspections for fatigue damage. This action will initially apply to a total of approximately 175 aircraft worldwide, 80 of which are U.S.-registered aircraft. Most of the aircraft in the U.S. are operated by Southwest Airlines. This come in light of Southwest Airlines Flight 812 a Boeing 737 aircraft (N632SW) which experienced an in-flight fuselage rupture in the top of the aircraft, approximately mid-cabin that occurred on Friday evening that led to a rapid depressurization of the aircraft and oxygen masks were deployed. There were 118 passengers onboard and five Phoenix-based crew members aboard Flight 812, the aircraft landed safely in Yuma. ?Safety is our number one priority,? said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. ?Last Friday?s incident was very serious and could result in additional action depending on the outcome of the investigation.?

?The FAA has comprehensive programs in place to protect commercial aircraft from structural damage as they age,? said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. ?This action is designed to detect cracking in a specific part of the aircraft that cannot be spotted with visual inspection.? The FAA airworthiness directive will require initial inspections using electromagnetic, or eddy-current, technology in specific areas of the aircraft fuselage on certain Boeing 737 aircraft in the -300, -400 and -500 series that have accumulated more than 30,000 flight cycles. It will then require repetitive inspections at regular intervals. Last November, the FAA published a rule designed specifically to address widespread fatigue damage in aging aircraft. The rule requires aircraft manufacturers to establish a number of flight cycles or hours a plane can operate and be free from fatigue damage. The rule requires aircraft manufacturers to incorporate the limits into their maintenance programs. Southwest Airlines is working with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to determine the cause of the rupture. Further, the carrier has decided to keep a subset of its Boeing 737 fleet out of the flying schedule to begin an aggressive inspection effort in cooperation with Boeing engineers.

		"The safety of our Customers and Employees is our primary concern, and we are grateful there were no serious injuries," said Mike Van de Ven, Southwest's executive vice president and chief operating officer?. Other News Stories (For the latest news please checkout our home page) Aurora To Design And Fabricate The S-97 RAIDERTM Prototype Airframe French Authorities Release Photos Of Air France Flight 447 Crash Site Lufthansa Selects PurePower PW1100G Engines For Airbus A320 New CEO?s Appointed To Sabre Airline Solutions And Travelocity Puppy's Birth Signals Milestone For Explosives Detection Canine Program Labor Unrest At Lufthansa And Subsidiary Airlines CAA Welcomes Guilty Verdict For Passenger Carrying Chainsaw United Continental Flight Attendants To Vote On Union Representation Crewmember Identity Verification Program To Begin Testing NTSB Investigating Southwest Airlines Rupture And Depressurization Event Gulfstream G650 Undergoing Flight Takeoff Performance Test Crashes As China Opens Its Low Altitude Airspace Eurocopter Showcase Its Product Line FAA Must Improve Controller Training Metrics To Identify Program Needs Boeing Releases Study On Jatropha Sustainable For Aviation Fuel AirTran Airways And Georgia Aquarium Unveil Dolphin 1 ?Hearts of Courage? Survival Of A Plane Crash In The Alaska Wilderness Traveler Arrested For Improper Currency Declaration At Dulles Airport Orbitz Loses World's Largest Car Rental Operator As A Customer WTO Ruling Exposes Airbus Subsidies Gave Company Unfair Advantage Spanish Government, Iberia, and Airbus Launch Bio-Fuel Initiative Bombardier Enters Alliance With Fokker To Support The Dash 8/Q-Series Aircraft Eurocopter Sells First AS350 B3e To Slave Lake Helicopters Former U.S. Navy Air Traffic Controller Convicted Of Murder Richard Simmons Takes On Air New Zealand Passengers A New Flight Deck For The High Performance Piston Aircraft Market Legal Resident Tries To Sell Unmanned Aerial Vehicle On EBay UK Scheduled Flights On Time Performance Continues To Get Worse Eurocopter To Acquire Vector Aerospace Corporation British Airways Strike Vote To Send Clear Message To New CEO Family Members Conspired To Export F-5 Fighter Jet Engines To Iran Gulfstream Aircraft Receives AMO By The Cayman Islands Stop Work Order Issued On The JSF F136 Extra Engine Program By DOD Beechcraft Debut King Air 250 Along With Other Aircraft At Sun ?n Fun