![]() |
Large Medium Small |
China has ordered airlines to perform inspections of 160 Boeing 737 airplanes due to concerns over the tail flap mechanism, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said Thursday.
![]() An Air China Boeing 737-800 [File photo] |
CAAC said in an announcement posted on its official website that it issued an "Airworthiness Directive" on March 15 and ordered 160 in-service Boeing 737-600, -700, -700C, -800, -900 and -900ER in China to be inspected.
The agency claimed that issuing "Airworthiness Directive" is part of its daily safety management work and it has issued 6502 such directives in total from 1986 to 2009 to civilian aircraft registered in China.
|
Earlier media reports said more than 400 Boeing 737s were involved in the inspection.
CAAC's directive followed a similar one issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on March 12. FAA ordered that all above-mentioned series of Boeing 737s be checked for loose elevator tabs caused by fractured mounting lugs that help control the tail flaps, according to Bloomberg.
Bloomberg said Boeing identified the problem after an incident when flight crew noticed excessive vibration and the plane was forced to divert but finally made a safe landing.
In an announcement posted on one of China's portal website sina.com, Boeing said it has already communicated the problem to all Boeing 737 customers in the world on March 10 and said the company has always aimed to guarantee the highest safety standard on its fleet.
Boeing 737 is one of the most popular airliners in China. Thursday's National Business Daily said by this February, at least 603 B737s were in service on the Chinese mainland.
All of the three major Chinese airlines - China Southern, Air China and China Eastern - have a large B737 fleet.