bmibaby carry out checks on three planes over US Boeing 737 incident
07.04.11
Three Boeing 737 planes operated by budget airline bmibaby are to have ‘additional inspections’, the BBC News reports. The announcement comes after part of the fuselage of a US Southwest Airlines plane tore open last week, causing the cabin to depressurise. US aviation authorities issued an airworthiness directive yesterday, while Boeing has distributed a service bulletin.
The FAA directive comes after a Boeing 737-300 belonging to US carrier Southwest Airlines developed a 1.5m hole in the top of the fuselage - causing the cabin to depressurise and passengers having to use emergency oxygen masks. The plane had to make an emergency landing at a military base.
The directive affects Boeing 737-300s, 400s and 500s that have completed more than 30,000 take-offs and landings. The Boeing service bulletin outlines the checks needed. Urgent inspections are expected to affect around 170 ‘classic’ 737s worldwide, and requires airlines to carry out electromagnetic inspections of the aircraft's fuselage for fatigue damage. Further inspections will have to conducted at regular intervals.
A spokesman for bmibaby told the BBC it expects the fuselage inspections to be completed by tomorrow. Three other UK airlines operate the 737 Classic range - Thomson, British Airways and Jet2. They each told the BBC that none of their aircraft is affected.
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