The Federal Aviation Administration will require $5 million in new
inspections and repairs for Boeing 737s in response to a large hole in
the roof of a Southwest Airlines jet as it few in 2009.
The order calls for repetitive inspections for cracking in the top of the fuselage of 109 planes in the Boeing 737-300, 737-400 and 737 -500 families.
The FAA said today in a statement that it “always evaluates the effectiveness of our safety improvements” and that “additional actions were needed to reduce risk further and assure continued safe operation.”
Update at 5:15 p.m.: Southwest said safety is “paramount” to its operations. The Dallas-based airline worked in conjunction with Boeing regarding some of the new inspection methods for evaluation by the FAA and incorporation into the new order, said spokeswoman Brandy King.
Update at 5:15 p.m.: “We are prepared to comply and do not anticipate impact to Southwest flight schedules or operations,” King said. “We remain completely confident in the airworthiness of our fleet.”
The new airworthiness directive, which will be published Wednesday in the Federal Register, requires further inspections in more areas, installing additional reinforcements, performing repetitive inspections for loose fasteners and repairs if necessary.
The FAA estimates the new inspections will cost up to $5.2 million and repairs could cost nearly $2 million.
The order calls for repetitive inspections for cracking in the top of the fuselage of 109 planes in the Boeing 737-300, 737-400 and 737 -500 families.
The FAA said today in a statement that it “always evaluates the effectiveness of our safety improvements” and that “additional actions were needed to reduce risk further and assure continued safe operation.”
Update at 5:15 p.m.: Southwest said safety is “paramount” to its operations. The Dallas-based airline worked in conjunction with Boeing regarding some of the new inspection methods for evaluation by the FAA and incorporation into the new order, said spokeswoman Brandy King.
Update at 5:15 p.m.: “We are prepared to comply and do not anticipate impact to Southwest flight schedules or operations,” King said. “We remain completely confident in the airworthiness of our fleet.”
The new airworthiness directive, which will be published Wednesday in the Federal Register, requires further inspections in more areas, installing additional reinforcements, performing repetitive inspections for loose fasteners and repairs if necessary.
The FAA estimates the new inspections will cost up to $5.2 million and repairs could cost nearly $2 million.
This is the FAA’s third of four inspection orders related to
chem-mill step cracking after the Southwest incident in July 2009. (A
similar incident on a Southwest jet in April 2011 was due to a separate
issue.)
http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com
http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com
No comments:
Post a Comment