SYDNEY, 31 Oct 2019:
Australian airline Qantas is reviewing 33 Boeing 737 aircrafts in its fleet after discovering structural cracking in one of its planes of the same model, which comes amid global concerns about air travel safety and problems of the American aeronautical company.
Qantas’ Boeing 737 aircrafts with more than 22,600 cycles (take-offs and landings) were subject to technical review this week, earlier than required, the airline said in a statement.
“We have found one example of cracking in an aircraft with just under 27,000 cycles and this aircraft has been removed from service for repair,” said a Qantas spokesperson.
The crack is located in an area where the fuselage of the aircraft meets the wing structure.
The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers’ Association (ALAEA), said in a statement today a crack had also appeared in the primary structure of another aircraft, without specifying the model of the plane, and called for the grounding of all 75 Qantas Boeing 737-800s.
“These aircraft should be kept safe on the ground until urgent inspections are completed and advice in relation to the ongoing nature of the wing cracks is confirmed by Boeing and the US Federal Airworthiness Authority,” ALAEA federal secretary Steve Purvinas said.
Qantas engineering head Chris Snook responded in a statement: “These are completely irresponsible comments. We would never operate an aircraft unless it was completely safe to do so. Even when a crack is present, it does not immediately compromise the safety of the aircraft.”
Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesperson Peter Gibson told national broadcaster ABC there was “no evidence to suggest that we should be grounding the whole fleet” of Qantas Boeing 737s.
The company has 75 planes of this model that it uses for domestic flights and nearby routes in Oceania and Asia.
Gibson said technical reviews take about an hour and that Qantas was expected to finish the process by tomorrow.
He also said Virgin airlines had already completed inspections and none of its aircrafts were found to have cracks.
Earlier this month, the US FAA issued a directive requiring repeated inspections of Boeing 737-600, 700, 700C, 800, 900, and 900 ER models to detect possible cracks.
Several airlines around the world have grounded their planes after discovering cracks in them.
– EFE