El Al officials have released a statement that to date, it has not received any alerts from Boeing regarding its 767 fleet. The airline is about to receive its eighth 767 model plane.
Concerns stem from the discovery of cracks on a plane at the section where the wing attaches to the plane’s body, the Wall Street Journal reports. Experts are studying the cracks along with FAA officials regarding the possibility of the engine separating from the craft during flight. The report points out that both Delta and Air Canada use the same model 767 on its flights to Israel.
FAA inspectors found cracks in three American Airline 767 planes, leading to the investigation.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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5 Responses
“where the wing attaches to the plane’s body”
I read elsewhere that the cracks were in the strut where the engine attaches to the wing.
1, in essence, same idea
It is standard practice that if cracks are found by any airline in their aircraft they inform the manufacturer.
In the process of performing an apropriate repair, the aviation authorities have to be informed (especially if a major structural member was damaged), unless an aproved repair is carried out. In addition, often the FAA is also informed and will if necesary provide a permit for the aircraft to fly in US airspace with the given repair. (each country has their own authority but many will accept FAA aproval).
If the same or similar faults are found on a number of aircraft, then the manufacturer will put out a buletin to all opperators of that type of aircraft that they must be on the lookout for similar damage.
They may design a standard repair which may require either fixing parts or replacing them altogether. This document / buletin is called a SB (service buletin) and is not binding but a suggestion. of course the repair provided by the SB will have FAA aproval.
At times the FAA may decide that the issue is serious enough to demand a fleet-wide check for the given problem and they will issue an AD (Airworthiness Directive).
This directive is legally binding on all operators who have a license from the FAA.
An operator is then required to perform repeated checks for the possibility of damage existing on their aircraft and fix them within a given period of time. (for example they might be given 30 days to perform the checks which will then have to be repeated every 4000 flights). If damage is found then it must be repaired before the plane is allowed to fly again, and the repair will have to be approved by the FAA in order for the plane to be deemed airworthy.
The operator is entitled to design their own repair, but this will require specific approval from the FAA. It is often easiest to just purchase a repair kit from the manufacturer and perform the SB, which is already approved.
As an example: cracks were found on a few components on the engine pylons of 767’s. Boeing issued a SB which replaced the aluminium parts which are succeptable to cracking with steal parts. The FAA decided that the issue was serious enough to demand fleet-wide inspections and issued an AD.
Many airlines have decided that instead of having to strip the engines off their 767s every few hundred hours and check for cracks, it would be easier and cheaper to buy the new parts from Boeing and perform the SB.
Of course, Boeing is required to build all new aircraft to FAA specifications and will include the new and improved parts on all future aircraft.
There are numerous SBs and ADs that pertain to every type of plane flying today, and they are no cause for alarm. As the article states; cracks were found on 3 planes out of a total of many hundred 767s that are flying today. Never the less, Boeing and the FAA have decided that it would be prudent to address the issue now.
This kind of story should interest engineers, but not cause alarm to travelers.
no Mark, they are not the same thing.
there is a massive difference between cracks in the wing-body interface, and the engine mounts.
It also makes quite a difference to the passengers if the engine comes off (has happened before), the damage can be contained, and the plane can land safely; and a wing coming off (has happened on one small 16 seater a few years back), and is quite problematic… planes only fly in one direction if they loose a wing… down!
4 thabo,
wellll forgiiiiiiiiive me for trying not to go into a long drawn out explanation like you did. I could have said that the engines are actually attached to the WING and not the body of the aircraft (called the fuselage).