FAA Orders Inspection of Over 100 Boeing Aircraft

Contributing Editor Carl Unger believes that every trip is worth taking. He loves an extended trip to Europe as much as he enjoys exploring the towns and landscape near home. Basically, you'll find him wherever there is good food, fresh air, and plenty of stories to bring home.

Carl has been writing for SmarterTravel since 2005. His travel writing has also appeared on USA Today and the About.com Boston travel guide.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: "It's not revolutionary, but a small Moleskine notebook is my one travel must-have. It's great for noting things you want to remember and it takes up hardly any space in your bag."

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Last month, American announced it had found cracks near the pylons that attach the engine to the wing on three Boeing 767s from American’s fleet. The FAA then ordered American to inspect several dozen aircraft, and has now expanded that inspection to cover 138 aircraft at multiple airlines operating in the U.S.

Affected airlines include American, Continental, Delta, United, and US Airways.

Part of the concern (aside from the threat of engines falling off planes) is that the cracks appeared suddenly and quickly. When the cracks initially appeared on those American planes, the FAA noted that the cracks appeared at a faster pace than the inspections. As a result, this new inspection order is essentially an acceleration of the existing inspection procedure. According to the Associated Press (AP), airlines now have to inspect their planes every 400 flights or 90 days, whichever is later, instead of every 1,500 flights.<SL:AD/>

The problem was initially discovered in 2005, at which point the 1,500-flight-inspection order was put in place. Boeing changed its design, and since then its 767s have been problem-free.

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