Boeing has announced that dozens of 737 NGs were prevented from flying after cracks were discovered in their bodies, in a new blow to the US Aerospace Industries Group after two plane crashes killed 346 people.
The announcement came after the Australian company Qantas said it had banned the Boeing 737 NG from flying because of a crack in its structure, and that it was examining 32 other aircraft, assuring passengers that do not worry.
A spokesman for Boeing on Thursday told AFP in Sydney that cracks had been detected in less than 5% (50 planes) of the 1,000 planes examined so far, and was prevented from flying pending repair.
South Korean authorities said they had prevented nine planes of the same type from flying early last month, including five Korean Air planes.
Earlier this month, Boeing reported problems with the part of the plane's wings.
The US Federal Aviation Agency said in a memorandum that it had ordered an immediate inspection of several Boeing 737 NGs after "structural cracks" were found in a China-based aircraft.
In the October 3 memo, the agency demanded a seven-day inspection, "before 30,000 flight cycles" were completed for each aircraft, with Qantas showing cracks after less than 27,000 flights.
The agency said on Thursday that "aircraft 737 NG" involved in the memorandum can not fly as long as not subject to disclosure, "after assessing at the beginning of last month the number of aircraft involved about 1911 in the United States.
Steven Vankhauser, an aviation expert at Swinburne University of Technology, said the pieces were designed "to withstand a certain level of damage and damage."
"Even when there is cracking, this does not automatically affect the safety of the aircraft," said Chris Snuck, head of the Australian engineering department, adding that the group had accelerated the detection of the remaining 32 planes and was due to expire on Friday.
On Tuesday, Boeing general manager Dennis Muelenberg was accused of sending passengers aboard two 737 Max planes owned by Indonesia's Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines in "coffins".
The two Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX and Ethiopian Airlines crashed in October 2018 and in March 2019 with a time difference of six months between them, killing 346 people and halting the entire fleet of the aircraft worldwide. the work.
In both incidents, according to press reports, the "maneuverability enhancement system", which is supposed to prevent the plane from falling, was blamed, and the pilots were unaware of its existence because it was simply not included in the aircraft's navigational manual.