FAA orders wing slat checks on all Boeing 737NGs

[Seng Lim 0]

FAA orders wing slat checks on all Boeing 737NGs

By Graham Warwick

 

The US FAA has ordered emergency inspections of wing leading-edge slat tracks on all Boeing Next Generation 737s after investigators discovered a loose bolt had pierced the fuel tank in the China Airlines 737-800 that was destroyed by fire in Japan on 20 August.

 

The emergency airworthiness directive issued by the FAA on 25 August requires operators to inspect main slat track downstop assemblies and slat track housings within 24 days and every 3,000 flight cycles thereafter.

 

The AD applies to all 737-600, -700, -800 and -900 series aircraft, including the newest member of the family, the 737-900ER.

 

CAL fuel rupture

 

The FAA says it has received reports of parts of the downstop assembly coming off the main slat track. In one case a nut fell into the track housing, or slat can, and during retraction the track made contact with the nut, puncturing the can. The operator reported finding fuel leaking from the drain hole in the slat can, the FAA says.

 

In the China Airlines incident, the AD says, loose parts of the downstop assembly punctured the slat can, which resulted in a fuel leak and ground fire that destroyed the aircraft.

 

CAL 737 fire

 

The AD requires operators to inspect the slat track downstop to check for missing parts and verify proper installation, and to check the inside of the slat can for foreign object debris and damage.

In addition, a torque of 50-80in-lb must be applied to the nut on the downstop assembly.

 

The FAA says the emergency AD in an interim solution until a final action is identified.

 

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2007/...ing-737ngs.html

 

[Pieter C. 5]

US Orders Emergency Checks On Newer Boeing 737s

 

August 28, 2007

US aviation authorities have ordered emergency inspections of newer model Boeing 737 airliners in response to last week's explosion and fire that destroyed a China Airlines plane in Japan, officials said on Monday.

 

A Federal Aviation Administration order sent to airlines over the weekend requires wing slat inspections on all 737-600 and above models within the next three weeks.

 

There are more than 780 of the affected planes registered to US airlines and another 1,500 flying overseas. Foreign aviation safety authorities usually follow FAA recommendations.

 

Airlines "were working diligently" to complete the inspections, a Boeing spokesman said.

 

The FAA, working with Boeing, wants airlines to ensure that a nut inside the movable slat system on each wing does not fall off and possibly damage an adjacent fuel tank.

 

Slats are panels that extend from the front of the wing to help give an aircraft lift at lower speeds -- during landing and takeoff.

 

Japanese investigators examining the charred wreckage of the Taiwanese 737-800 on the island of Okinawa found that a loose nut fell into the path of a retracting wing slat after landing and pierced the fuel tank, causing a leak.

 

The leaking fuel triggered an explosion and fire that engulfed the plane but all aboard escaped safely.

 

Boeing said it issued a service letter to airlines in 2005 after receiving four reports of loose slat nuts. In one case, a nut fell off a bolt and punctured a fuel tank, but there was no fire. The advisory was updated in 2006 and again last month, Boeing said.

 

(Reuters)

 

Ryanair Doing 737 Checks, Sees No Disruptions

 

August 28, 2007

Ryanair, Europe's biggest budget airline and one of the largest users of the Boeing 737 airliner said on Tuesday it had begun checks on its fleet after US aviation authorities ordered emergency inspections.

 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) order sent to airlines at the weekend requires wing slat inspections on all 737-600 to 900ER models within the next three weeks and comes after an explosion and fire that destroyed a China Airlines plane in Japan last week.

 

A spokesman for Ryanair said the airline had started the inspections and would be able to conduct them without disrupting operations.

 

"Nothing has been discovered thus far arising from the inspections. Ryanair expects to complete the inspections well before the required 24 day deadline," the spokesman said.

 

(Reuters)

 

[Seng Lim 0]

Apparently the problems is more serious than what they innitially thought of.

 

FAA orders quicker 737 wing inspections

 

The US FAA has issued a new order to airlines to speed up inspections for all Boeing Next Generation 737s after finding new evidence that loose parts in the wing leading edge slat tracks is a wider problem than initially thought.

 

The emergency airworthiness directive (EAD) issued on 28 August requires airlines to perform a detailed or borescope inspection within 10 days, and a one-time torquing of the nut and bolt in the downstop assembly for the slat track within 24 days.

 

The order, which supersedes an EAD issued on 25 August, includes carriers all models of the 737NG, including the -600, -700,-700C, -800, -900 and -900ER.

 

The warning comes after a China Airlines 737-800 was destroyed by a fire caused by a fuel leak in Naha, Japan on August 20. An initial investigation showed that parts came loose in the assembly that serves as a downstop when the slat track deploys. As the slats were retracted, the loose parts pierced the fuel tank in the wing, according to the FAA.

 

Five days later, the FAA issued the first EAD to complete an initial inspection within a 24-day period. But feedback from the inspections quickly revealed a wider problem, with multiple aircraft reporting loose parts in the slat track assemblies. “Additionally, in one case, the slat can was damaged,” the FAA directive says.

 

Boeing, meanwhile, is continuing to collect data about the problem and decide whether an engineering fix will be necessary, a spokeswoman said.

 

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2007/...nspections.html

[Jerry Ang 0]

Goodness me! Something new...