Qantas is urged to ground ALL of its 737s after a crack was found in another of the airline’s planes
- Qantas are initiating urgent checks on 33 planes with more than 22,000 cycles
- The cracks were found on the ‘pickle fork’ of a Boeing 737 during maintenance
- The reparation cost is set to cost the airline an estimated $40,000 per plane
Qantas has been urged to ground all of its 737 aircraft’s after a second crack was found in one of airline’s planes.
The airline began immediate checks on 33 planes after a crack was found during routine maintenance checks on Wednesday.
The crack was discovered on the ‘pickle fork’ of a Boeing 737 – the part which attaches the body to the wing.
And now the airline’s engineers’ union want the entire fleet grounded after another crack was found early Thursday morning, Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Qantas are initiating immediate checks on 33 planes after cracks were found during routine maintenance (pictured: Qantas stock image)
Qantas’ head of engineering Chris Snook said the calls to ground the fleet were irresponsible as safety regulators require the checks to be done over the next seven months.
He said Qantas’ checks would be completed by Friday.
The find follows worldwide concerns that some some planes have completed 30,000 take-off and landing cycles.
The US Federal Aviation Administration ordered checks of the newer 737 MAX model in the wake of two fatal accidents.
Planes with 22,600 to 29,999 cycles were ordered to be inspected every 1000 cycles.
‘We have found one example of cracking in an aircraft with just under 27,000 cycles, and this aircraft has been removed from service for repair,’ Qantas told the ABC.
Qantas also said the cracks aren’t a safety concern (pictured: Qantas stock image)
Qantas also said the cracks aren’t a safety concern.
‘Qantas would never operate an aircraft unless it was completely safe to do so. Detailed analysis by Boeing shows that even when a crack is present, it does not immediately compromise the safety of the aircraft,’ it said.
The reparation cost is set to cost an estimated $40,000 per plane, aviation consultancy IBA told the Gold Coast Bulletin.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Qantas.