Posted on 03/25/2005 11:35:26 AM PST by COEXERJ145
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. aviation regulators on Friday ordered detailed rudder inspections and repairs, if necessary, of certain Airbus planes after the rudder of a Canadian passenger jet nearly fell off this month. The Federal Aviation Administration wants operators of the 112 European-made Airbus A310s and A300s registered to U.S. carriers to complete detailed rudder inspections within three months. The planes are flown primarily in the United States by cargo giant FedEx Corp. . American Airlines also operates some A300s.
The tests include visual checks and a tap test, which is an audio analysis.
FedEx said it expected to complete inspections of its nearly 100 planes within the required time. "To date, we have seen no indication of any irregularities in our aircraft," the company said in a statement. Officials at American could not immediately be reached for comment.
French aviation regulators, in concert with the world's largest commercial plane manufacturer, issued a similar directive last week covering nearly 400 planes, including those flown by American and FedEx. The inspections are usually performed every few years.
The FAA order, which was expected after the European action, instructs operators to look for any separation or other damage to the rudder, which is made from layers of carbon-reinforced composite materials.
The directive stems from a March 6 in-flight incident in which a Canadian charter A310 lost part of its rudder. The Air Transat flight from Cuba to Quebec City with 270 people aboard returned safely to Cuba. Canadian authorities are investigating.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is also monitoring the investigation.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Glad to hear it...I will prob have to take drugs so I wont make a scene and get handcuffed and sat on!!! I really hate to fly!
That takes all the fun out of flying, especially on a 777. The IFE system gives passengers plenty to do (although some does cost money) and the comfort of the 777 is unmatched. Enjoy the flight on the safest airliner in the world.
Thanks
bttt
New airplane. Never been on one of these.
As does the new 7E7/787 Boeing Dreamliner. I believe the newer versions of the 737, as well as the 777 use significant composite content in aero surfaces.
Wouldn't your suspicion that something is wrong with composite aero surfaces support the findings of the 587 investigation? The co-pilot overreacted to an upset and snapped the vertical stabilizer. You can snap the aluminum tail off of an airliner just as easily by exceeding design limits.
v-tailed DR killer
Yes, but "design limits" should include TO and landing, don't you think?
Of course they do, if you mean taking off and landing within the design envelope of the aircraft. For 587, that wasn't the case. For the Cuba-Quebec plane, who knows what happened? The rudder came off but the vertical stabilizer stayed on, a better outcome although not one I'd like to experience.
Anyway, the 587 incident was a rare case of pilot error, although there is a dispute about whether AA training might have led him astray.
I understand AA's most senior pilots are transferring off the Airbus back to Boeings, calling the Airbuses Scarebuses.
This is like two week old event. What's with the rush to check it out now?
Yup, that's the one. Do a search for "Another Airbus Rudder" in News, and it should pull up the thread with the comparison pics.
but a bonanza for the lawyers!
< ]B^)
Photo ping.
Flight 587 was doing about 240 knots when the tail came off. It should not be possible to kick the tail off an airplane of that category at that speed no matter how hard you try.
A few belts of Scotch always works for me!
I've been flying most of my 59 years but I never forget to self-medicate.....
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