Emergency checks made on aircraft
By Winny Wang |
March 19, 2010, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINESE airlines have joined foreign counterparts to undertake emergency inspections on Next Generation Boeing 737 jets to eliminate concerns over an elevator tab control mechanism, a key piece of instrumentation controlling stability.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China has issued an "emergency airworthiness directive" to domestic carriers, ordering them to inspect the mechanisms on 160 Boeing 737-600, 700, 700C, 800, 900 and 900ER jets.
"Elevator tabs are movable flaps on the horizontal tail that control the pitch of the airplane, without which the aircraft will be hard to control," said aviation expert Zhou Jisheng.
Boeing issued a notice to its clients worldwide on March 10 suggesting they check the mechanisms because it found a loose elevator tab on an airplane earlier in the month, the United States plane maker said in a statement yesterday.
The notice followed "severe vibration" on a Ryanair 737-800 jet that made an emergency landing in Belgium.
The flight landed safely in the capital of Brussels but extensive damage to the left elevator mechanism was detected.
"The inspections are precautionary and we always send such notices to clients when a potential hazard is found on any jets," an official of Boeing China said yesterday.
Boeing 737s, around for more than 40 years, are widely used globally and by domestic carriers, including China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Air China.
The CAAC said 160 jets were involved in the inspection.
"We are conducting inspections on planes, and our operations have not been affected," said Huang Bin, board secretary of Air China.
Li Yangmin, vice general manager of China Eastern, said the carrier began inspections on 55 jets after receiving the notice from Boeing.
Tan Wangeng, China Southern's general manager, said yesterday that only two planes required inspections and the carrier found no abnormalities.
"We began inspections on March 12 when the US Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency airworthiness directive," Tan said.
The Boeing 737 is a single-aisle jet designed for short and medium-range travel. The first 737 took to the skies in 1967. There are nine models and the plane has become one of the most ordered in aviation history.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China has issued an "emergency airworthiness directive" to domestic carriers, ordering them to inspect the mechanisms on 160 Boeing 737-600, 700, 700C, 800, 900 and 900ER jets.
"Elevator tabs are movable flaps on the horizontal tail that control the pitch of the airplane, without which the aircraft will be hard to control," said aviation expert Zhou Jisheng.
Boeing issued a notice to its clients worldwide on March 10 suggesting they check the mechanisms because it found a loose elevator tab on an airplane earlier in the month, the United States plane maker said in a statement yesterday.
The notice followed "severe vibration" on a Ryanair 737-800 jet that made an emergency landing in Belgium.
The flight landed safely in the capital of Brussels but extensive damage to the left elevator mechanism was detected.
"The inspections are precautionary and we always send such notices to clients when a potential hazard is found on any jets," an official of Boeing China said yesterday.
Boeing 737s, around for more than 40 years, are widely used globally and by domestic carriers, including China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Air China.
The CAAC said 160 jets were involved in the inspection.
"We are conducting inspections on planes, and our operations have not been affected," said Huang Bin, board secretary of Air China.
Li Yangmin, vice general manager of China Eastern, said the carrier began inspections on 55 jets after receiving the notice from Boeing.
Tan Wangeng, China Southern's general manager, said yesterday that only two planes required inspections and the carrier found no abnormalities.
"We began inspections on March 12 when the US Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency airworthiness directive," Tan said.
The Boeing 737 is a single-aisle jet designed for short and medium-range travel. The first 737 took to the skies in 1967. There are nine models and the plane has become one of the most ordered in aviation history.
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