Fuselage crack prompts FAA's review
April 7, 2011, Thursday
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THE United States Federal Aviation Administration chief yesterday ordered a review of his agency's oversight program for aging aircraft after the fuselage of a Southwest Airlines Co jet ruptured in flight last week.
"Friday's event was very serious," FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt told the US House of Representatives Appropriations Committee's transport panel yesterday in Washington.
The review will examine whether the FAA is "asking the right questions" and using the best data in its program designed to ensure that the oldest aircraft flying are safe, he said.
Boeing Co, maker of the B737-300 jet involved in the incident over Arizona last Friday, said on Tuesday that metal-fatigue inspections must be stepped up on older models of the plane. The aircraft whose hull opened up in midair showed signs of cracking far earlier than the Chicago-based plane maker expected.
Cracks on the so-called 737 Classic weren't forecast to occur until "much later," after 60,000 cycles of takeoffs and landings, Paul Richter, Boeing's chief project engineer for older jets, said on a conference call.
Southwest's plane will be 15 years old in June and had flown 39,781 cycles.
China Southern Airlines, the nation's biggest carrier, said in an e-mailed statement yesterday that there is no need for "urgent checks" on B737s as its planes doesn't fulfill inspection requirements.
"Friday's event was very serious," FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt told the US House of Representatives Appropriations Committee's transport panel yesterday in Washington.
The review will examine whether the FAA is "asking the right questions" and using the best data in its program designed to ensure that the oldest aircraft flying are safe, he said.
Boeing Co, maker of the B737-300 jet involved in the incident over Arizona last Friday, said on Tuesday that metal-fatigue inspections must be stepped up on older models of the plane. The aircraft whose hull opened up in midair showed signs of cracking far earlier than the Chicago-based plane maker expected.
Cracks on the so-called 737 Classic weren't forecast to occur until "much later," after 60,000 cycles of takeoffs and landings, Paul Richter, Boeing's chief project engineer for older jets, said on a conference call.
Southwest's plane will be 15 years old in June and had flown 39,781 cycles.
China Southern Airlines, the nation's biggest carrier, said in an e-mailed statement yesterday that there is no need for "urgent checks" on B737s as its planes doesn't fulfill inspection requirements.
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