Boeing 737NG is in a troubled time, and there are many problems
After the Boeing 737max series passenger plane encountered a 'global grounding' in the first half of the year, its' predecessor 'model has recently encountered new problems.
On the evening of Friday (27th) local time, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that a small number of Boeing 737 'new generation' (737NG) airliners were found to have cracks in the same key part, requiring airlines to investigate some models of this series and report immediately.
Boeing confirmed on the same day that it had informed the airlines using 737NG of the crack problem, but 'there is no problem reported by the operating airliner at present.'
Neither FAA nor Boeing disclosed how many aircraft would be affected.
737NG is the third generation of short and medium range narrow body jet developed by Boeing. It made its first flight in 1997, including 737-600, - 700, - 800 and - 900 series. As of July 31 this year, a total of 7040 737NG had been delivered, of which more than 5000 were - 800 series.
It is worth mentioning that the successor of 737NG is 737max, which suffered a 'global grounding' in March this year due to two major aviation accidents in five months, and is still under investigation and evaluation.
Seattle news website komonews reported that at the beginning of this month, a 737NG aircraft with a relatively new age and undergoing transformation was found to have a serious crack in the pick forks between the fuselage and the wing.
In the cross-section, the red circle fork connects the fuselage with the wing. From: Boeing
Each 737 passenger plane has four such devices, which is very important for the aircraft to bear pressure, torque and aerodynamics. If there are problems in the flight process, it may lead to disastrous consequences.
According to the design index, these devices must be able to withstand more than 90000 takeoffs and landings during the whole life of the aircraft. However, the aircraft under inspection has only taken off and landed 35000 times.
A retired Boeing engineer said that the cracks in the connecting device were 'very unusual' and 'simply put, there will be no cracks in that way in the design.'
After the incident, Boeing immediately informed the FAA. The latter stated that "similar cracks were found on a small number of aircraft of the same type", and asked the airlines using some 737NG models to carry out inspection and report the results immediately.
Boeing said on Friday that it would maintain close contact with customers and implement the recommended inspection plan.
A government source said that before confirming the problem, it is difficult to decide what measures to take, such as whether to inspect all 737NG models or grounded for further investigation.
Another federal government source revealed that FAA inspectors were "excited and satisfied" with Boeing's initiative to report, including himself, who had worried that "Boeing's economic considerations outweighed safety".