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Except this is not about cracks in the airframe but in a component that is certified for significantly more cycles than when the cracks are being found. If thes
by vultour 7y ago
Except this is not about cracks in the airframe but in a component that is certified for significantly more cycles than when the cracks are being found. If these were benign FAA wouldn’t have released an AD to inspect and repair them.
- wil421 7y agoI believe it was 27,000 vs the 30,000 Boeing stated. How long is 3,000 landings in days/years? The FAA is going to be investigating Boeing for everything minor and major if they want to gain a fraction of the credibility they lost.
- msbarnett 7y ago> I believe it was 27,000 vs the 30,000 Boeing stated. How long is 3,000 landings in days/years? Boeing's originally stated lifetime was 90,000. After the initial discovery of the unexpected cracking, the FAA ordered an inspection of all pickle forks with more than 30,000 cycles within 7 days -- this is probably the source of your confusion. The "youngest" cracked pickle forks discovered so far was on a plane with 27,000 cycles, which is to say 63,000 cycles early (not 3,000 early) with respect to what Boeing rated it for.
- wil421 7y agoMakes sense thanks for the clarification. That’s a hell of a lot more and very concerning.
- notfromhere 7y agoAs the comment below states, the difference is 27,000 vs 63,000. For more context, the pickle fork holds up the wings, so if those fail you are SOL
- manicdee 7y agoThe 27k vs 30k number is Qantas claiming they don’t need to inspect their planes yet because their planes still have 300 cycles to go. Inspection costs money. It might only take an hour to perform the inspection but that plane will be out of service for days.