[Peetwo]

Boeing in a fork'n'pickle - 

Via the Oz:

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Qantas engineers in US seeking a pickle fork fix



Qantas engineers have travelled to the US to learn how to replace a critical aircraft component after the discovery of hairline cracks in the pickle forks of three Boeing 737-800s.

The pickle forks help attach the wings of the aircraft to the fuselage and are part of the aircraft structure, which means they are not easily replaced.

Inspections ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration exposed the cracks in the Qantas aeroplanes, which the airline immediately took out of service.

Worldwide about 50 Boeing 737-800s have been found to have cracked pickle forks, or about 5 per cent of those inspected.

Boeing is continuing to work with suppliers to supply the necessary parts to customers and Qantas engineers are among those in Victorville, California, learning how to fix the problem.

A statement from Boeing said the manufacturer regretted the impact the problem was having on their 737 Next Generation customers worldwide.

“We are working around the clock to provide the support needed to return all aeroplanes to service as soon as possible,” the statement said.

Virgin Australia inspected 19 of its Boeing 737-800s, including six that were yet to reach the threshold of 22,600 landings recommended by the FAA for examination. None were found to have the hairline cracks, but CEO Paul Scurrah said they just wanted to be certain.

“On top of inspecting the aircraft we were technically required to do, there were a further six that were inspected and found to be OK,” Mr Scurrah said. “We wanted to be thorough about the risk of that being in our fleet so we made the decision to go further than what the manufacturer and regulator required us to do.”

[size=undefined]A matter of urgency: push for airlines to widen Boeing 737 crack checks[/size]



Pressure is growing on airlines to widen their inspections of Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft after evidence a key component is cracking at a much earlier stage than expected.

Two Lion Air jets with less than 22,000 landings on the clock, have been found with hairline cracks in the pickle fork, which help attach the wings to the fuselage.

Both jets are 737-900 models, not the 737-800 aircraft operated by Qantas and Virgin Australia.

But Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association secretary Steve Purvinas said the discovery highlighted why all 737NGs should be inspected as a matter of urgency.

“If it’s not a safety issue, then why is it that any aircraft found with cracks are being taken out of service?” Mr Purvinas said.

“Accidents happen due to a combination of things, and something like a cracked pickle fork and a hard landing could have serious consequences.”

He said the original directive from Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration had recommended inspections of aircraft with over 35,000 landings which was “clearly way off the mark”.

“You’ve got cracks being found on aircraft with 15,000 fewer cycles,” said Mr Purvinas.

“Why take the chance of operating aircraft without knowing if the pickle forks are cracked or not?”

Last week Qantas completed inspections of 33 737-800s, three of which were found to have hairline cracks in the pickle forks and removed from service until repairs could be made.

Virgin Australia examined 19 of its 737-800s, all of which had greater than 18,000 landings.

No issues was found and a spokeswoman said they would follow any further directives from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority or the FAA as a matter or priority.

Qantas has sent engineers to Victorville in California to learn how to fix the pickle forks which are part of the aircraft’s structure, and intended to last for 90,000 cycles or landings.

Mr Purvinas said it was a “massive job” to replace them because many primary parts of the aircraft had to be removed in order to fit new pickle forks.

Qantas is hopeful the three 737-800s will be back in service by Christmas and has promised to minimise any impact to customers.

Indonesian carrier Lion Air reports cracks in new Boeing 737s in more bad news for Seattle-based company

Updated about 10 hours ago

[b]PHOTO:[/b] Lion Air performed the checks even though they were not yet required.

[b]RELATED STORY:[/b] Qantas grounds three jets due to cracks, lashes 'irresponsible' union
[b]RELATED STORY:[/b] 'Deficiencies' that led to deadly Lion Air crash revealed to victims' families
[b]RELATED STORY:[/b] 'She's not picking up her phone': Families of 157 aboard crashed plane gather

Indonesian carrier Lion Air has found structural cracks in two Boeing 737 NG planes that have taken fewer flights than a US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) threshold for checks, Indonesia's aviation safety regulator says.

Key points:

• Indonesian carrier Lion Air found cracks in two Boeing 737 NG planes
  
  
• The airline has an tragic recent history after everyone on board a Boeing 737 MAX was killed when it crashed in 2018
  
  
• Several other airlines, including Qantas, have experienced cracking issues near the 'pickle fork' section of the plane
  

The discovery could make it more likely the FAA will require airline operators to inspect 737 NGs with fewer than 22,600 cycles, which had not been mandated previously.

Each cycle typically represents one flight, with a take-off and a landing.

The cracks are on what is known as the "pickle fork", a part that attaches the plane's fuselage, or body, to the wing structure.

An FAA spokesman said the agency had asked operators to report any cracks so it could assess whether it needed to change its inspection orders.

The Lion Air jets with cracks had fewer than 22,000 cycles and were now grounded for repairs, a spokesman for the airline said.

Lion Air performed the checks even though they were not yet required, to "ensure security and safety of the flights," he said.

Indonesia's Director-General of Civil Aviation, Polana Pramesti, said there were no plans for the country's aviation regulator to expand the inspections beyond the FAA directive.

The FAA requires immediate checks of aircraft with more than 33,000 cycles and inspections within the next 1,000 cycles for those with more than 22,600 cycles.

Boeing did not respond to an immediate request for comment. The manufacturer last week said just over 1,000 planes globally had met the threshold for inspections to date, and of those, fewer than 5 per cent had issues.

The cracks in the Lion Air planes were just the latest to be found after several airlines, including Qantas, found them on their aircraft.

Despite finding cracks in three 737 NG aircraft at the pickle fork structure, Qantas rubbished "irresponsible" calls for their fleet to be grounded.

"We would never fly an aircraft that wasn't safe," Qantas Domestic chief executive Andrew David said.

"Even where these hairline cracks are present they're not an immediate risk, which is clear from the fact the checks were not required for at least seven months."

Southwest Airlines, Brazil's Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes and Korean Air Lines are among the carriers to ground planes after discovering cracks.

Lion's recent Boeing history

Lion Air has a shocking recent history with Seattle-based Boeing, which began in October of 2018 when one of the airline's newer 737 MAX jets crashed shortly after take-off from Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board and leading to heightened scrutiny on the carrier's maintenance operations by Indonesia's safety regulator.

That crash was the first time a Boeing 737 MAX jet crashed shortly after take-off but not the last and it was followed in March 2019 by an Ethiopian airlines jet crashing, also killing everyone on board.

The result of the second incident was the Boeing 737 MAX being grounded worldwide by US presidential decree.

Indonesian aviation investigators eventually found mechanical and design issues contributed to the crash of the Lion Air jet and that incorrect assumptions on how an anti-stall device — called the Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) — functioned and how pilots would react played a part.

In October, explosive text messages from a former test pilot claimed Boeing knew about the dangerous behaviour of the MCAS system and that the MCAS was "running rampant" and more powerful than the company had told the FAA.

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And some additional media links for the latest on the 737 MAX imbroglio:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...-simulator

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/07/busin...x-faa.html

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/08/polit...index.html


MTF...P2