Lion Air the latest carrier to ground planes after structural cracks found
Lion Air is the latest Boeing airline customer to detect structural cracks on Boeing 737 NG planes.
The carrier found cracks to the ‘pickle fork’ on two planes.
The pickle fork is a part that connects the plane’s fuselage to the wing.
Several weeks ago the US Federal Aviation Administration send out a directive for airline to check all NG model 737’s which had flown at least 33,000 cycles.
The affected Lion Air planes had flown fewer flights but were checked anyway.
That may lead to the FAA to revise its directive to mandate checks on newer aircraft.
The Lion Air planes had flown fewer than 22.000 cycles.
Indonesia’s director general of civil aviation, Polana Pramesti said there were no current plans in Indonesia to expand the scope of inspections unless the FAA revises its directive.
Boeing says about 1,000 planes globally have been inspected and less than 5% were found to have structural cracks.
Southwest Airlines, Brazil’s Gol, Qantas Airways and Korean Air Lines are among the carriers which have detected cracks and grounded planes.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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