Re:FAA issues emergency directive on 2,000 Boeing 737 NG, Cl...
by bluGill on Friday July 24, 2020 @02:34PM
(#23942982)
Airplanes worry about fatigue. They have to be replaced after so many years or the wings will fall off in the air. If the airplane is only a few weeks away from replacement when it fails an inspection you scrap it now, if it has years to go you replace parts.
Re:FAA issues emergency directive on 2,000 Boeing 737 NG, Cl...
by gonzo on Friday July 24, 2020 @05:48PM
(#23944839)
It’s not years, it’s “cycles” take-off/landing with pressurized passenger compartment in-between.
And it’s not often the wings fall off, but the tail does, or sometimes a huge hole opens in the “skin” of the airframe.
Example: Aloha Airlines Flight 243
Re:FAA issues emergency directive on 2,000 Boeing 737 NG, Cl...
by doodlebugging on Friday July 24, 2020 @05:03PM
(#23944418)
I don't disagree with this at all. That is how it should work and that is apparently how it is working.
These planes have regular maintenance checks and diagnostics to help identify issues before they become catastrophic failures. This whole thing is likely a normal maintenance issue, maybe unexpected due to the unusual nature of the scenario they face with so many idle jets, but not something that would have escaped their servicing routines. The system flagged a problem and now they can address it. If for some reason their diagnostics were not set up to detect this sort of issue then you have a problem.