Posted on 03/13/2010 6:51:00 PM PST by MamaDearest
The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered owners and operators of Boeing 737 jets to check some aircraft for loose lug bearings in the tail, according to an Emergency Airworthiness Directive issued Friday.
Boeing estimates that the directive affects about 600 aircraft, which need to be inspected within 12 days.
Failure of the lugs could cause vibration leading to structural failure of the horizontal fins and flaps in the tail, possibly resulting in “loss of aircraft control and structural integrity,” the agency’s directive said.
Boeing issued a related service alert Friday that affected six models of 737s, the company’s biggest-selling jetliner. The FAA directive affects fewer aircraft, in this case certain 737s that must be inspected with 12 to 30 days.
The regulatory agency acted after pilots experienced “severe elevator vibration” on an unidentified flight outside of the United States in early March, according to the directive and Boeing. The pilots canceled their flight plan and safely landed the jet.
“Subsequent investigation revealed extensive damage to the elevator tab control system,” the emergency directive said, a symptom related to the attach lugs.
“Our investigation into the root cause is still ongoing,” Boeing spokeswoman Sandy Angers said this evening. “We haven’t identified a root cause.”
Angers said the company acted quickly, first issuing an operators alert on March 10, because “this is a safety of flight issue.”
The Airbus haters will be here soon.
As a pilot, I'm not going to fly any 737 where I find the flaps on the tail. They are supposed to be on the wings. :)
Maybe I need to find a new job where I don't have to fly. Or travel -- driving and Amtrak aren't options when one lives on the Left Coast and meetings are East Coast and Europe.
LOL...saw that too...
Should they have said:
A. Flippers
B. Trim tab
C. Itty bitty wingy thingy
D. None of the above
LOL
That does it - if it’s not Airbus, I’m not flying.
It’s gotta rhyme. If it’s not Antonov, I’m gettin off.
If it says Grumman on the pedals, it better say Martin Baker on the seat.
LOL I noticed that too. The next time a journo gets it right will be the first.
Boeing is a fantastic company.
No, I think EAD makes fantastic aircraft as well. Too much emotion here. Each company does need the other... on that I would agree.
FAA takes hit over airline maintenance
Snips: February 19, 2010 The Federal Aviation Administration's lax oversight of aircraft maintenance at American Airlines raises concerns about the agency's ability to regulate airline maintenance in gener The report notes that after the inspector general's office brought the maintenance allegations to FAA's attention, the agency brought in inspectors not normally assigned to oversee American to conduct a special review. The outside inspectors made recommendations in June 2008, but FAA's managers located at the airline's headquarters didn't receive a copy of the inspectors' final report until a year later, the inspector general said.
Union and Consumer group criticize airline maintenance outsourcing
Snip: Feb 18, 2008 "We need to call for a moratorium of all overseas maintenance. We need a moratorium and we need it now. This moratorium should not be lifted until every one of the 700 (overseas) repair facilities meet our standards," he added.
“As a pilot, I’m not going to fly any 737 where I find the flaps on the tail. “
I am not a pilot, and even I read that and said to my self “what the heck????”
Reporters are some of the most technically ignorant people on the planet.
Alaska Air 737, Seattle to Honolulu and back three weeks ago.
Smooth sailing.
Remove the 'technically'.
“Absolutely fantastic aircraft. In production for over 50 years.”
The 737 first went into production in the mid 1960’s.
But, it only got better with them. So many aircraft today copied that 737 idea.
Can you believe... 50 years for almost the same airframe?
“Alaska Air 737, Seattle to Honolulu and back three weeks ago.
Smooth sailing.”
As a sailor, I disagree. It’s actually motorsailing.
A typical cruiser’s joke when flying back to the boat to start another tropical cruising year went like,
Question: “How was your flight?”
Answer: “It was awful, we had to motor the whole way!”
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