LOS ANGELES -- Federal air-safety regulators have proposed enhanced inspections on roughly 500 Boeing 737 aircraft operated by U.S. airlines, a move aimed at detecting potential manufacturing slipups that in extreme cases could result in engines separating from wings.
No crashes are believed to have been caused by such slipups. But the Federal Aviation Administration's move is unusual because it seeks to uncover potential manufacturing problems stretching back years, and focuses on the airline industry's most popular family of planes.
Foreign safety regulators eventually are likely to require the same inspections for hundreds of additional aircraft. That could mean that more than 1,270 Boeing 737s could be affected world-wide.
The safety mandate proposed by the Federal Aviation Administration piggybacks on earlier safety directives issued by the agency as well as plane-maker Boeing Co. But after receiving at least two reports in recent months of improperly installed engines, the agency proposed enhanced inspections of engine mounts on the four most recent versions of the workhorse twin-jet 737 planes.
If portions of engine mounts are installed backward, according to the FAA, the result can be increased structural loads on some parts and in extreme cases, "separation of the engine from the airplane." A Boeing spokesman said Friday that the company has taken steps to prevent slipups at the factory and also has instructed operators to step up inspections of certain planes already in service. The spokesman said, "We don't believe this to be a safety of flight issue."
Similar safety directives issued years ago applied only to those planes on which mechanics had removed an engine after delivery from the factory. In effect, the previous FAA mandates were aimed at catching mistakes by airline mechanics -- or third-party maintenance providers-- who installed engines on certain 737 models.
By contrast, the FAA's latest proposal is intended to identify and correct the same engine-mounting mistakes that originated on Boeing's assembly line. The agency often issues its own safety mandate following service bulletins issued by Boeing, because the manufacturer's safety warnings aren't mandatory for airlines to follow.
The proposed inspections, slated to be completed within 90 days after release of the final directive, aren't expected to disrupt airline schedules. If problems are found, the FAA proposal gives Boeing and airline maintenance officials flexibility in how to conduct repairs.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122549968968489759.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
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