Fri, Jul 17, 2009
Aircraft Section That Failed May Not Have Been Covered By 2004
AD
The NTSB Investigation
of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 which experienced a cabin
depressurization earlier this week may hinge on an old maintenance
violation the airline thought it had covered with a design
improvement.
A 2004 AD (2004-18-06) "...applicable to certain Boeing Model
737-200, -200C, -300, -400, and -500 series airplanes, requires
repetitive inspections to find fatigue cracking of certain upper
and lower skin panels of the fuselage, and follow-on and corrective
actions, if necessary. This amendment also includes terminating
action for the repetitive inspections of certain modified or
repaired areas only. This action is necessary to find and fix
fatigue cracking of the skin panels, which could result in sudden
fracture and failure of the skin panels of the fuselage, and
consequent rapid decompression of the airplane. This action is
intended to address the identified unsafe condition." There are
then several pages of clarifications.
"It looks like that would apply," Peter Knudson, an NTSB
spokesman, told the Dallas Morning News Wednesday. "We are going to
look at the maintenance records and the maintenance practices, and
we are going to want to know if all of these [regulations] were
followed."
Southwest was fined $7.5 million in 2008 when it was discovered
it was continuing to fly 46 aircraft that were due for inspection
for structural damage. 6 of those were found to have stress fatigue
cracks. The case was settled earlier this year, negotiated down
from an original fine of $10.2 million.
File Photo
FAA officials told the paper that a service bulletin issued by
Boeing recommends that inspections should focus on areas where two
major skin panels join, but did not specify inspection of the long
panels at the top of the aircraft.
The paper also reports that NTSB may investigate whether the
aircraft was damaged during re-painting. A Southwest spokeswoman
said the most recent inspection of the aircraft had revealed no
problems. She declined to comment on the re-painting issue, citing
an ongoing NTSB investigation into an incident that took place with
another airline in 2003.
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