ZAGORFLY
2nd Apr 2008, 22:02
United Cancels 31 Flights for Inspections
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By JOHN SULLIVAN
Published: April 2, 2008
United Airlines on Wednesday became the latest air carrier to experience disruptions because of maintenance inspections, as the airline announced that it had temporarily removed its fleet of Boeing 777 aircraft from service to allow for checks, resulting in cancellation of 31 flights.
The inspections, of part of the fire suppression system in the cargo hold, were ordered by the airline after United workers found that scheduled checks of the equipment had not been performed, said Megan McCarthy, a spokeswoman for United. She said 52 aircraft were taken out of service beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening. Inspecting all of the aircraft is expected to take 24 to 36 hours, she said. By Wednesday morning, 14 inspections had been completed.
She said none of the inspections conducted by noon on Wednesday had turned up any problems with the fire suppression systems.
The announcement came just hours before the Federal Aviation Administration released preliminary results of an audit of airlines’ compliance with agency orders known as airworthiness directives. Robert A. Sturgell, the acting administrator of the F.A.A., said the agency had checked compliance with nearly 2,400 such orders and found a 99 percent compliance rate.
The audit was undertaken after it emerged that Southwest Airline had been flown older aircraft without conducting required inspections for cracks in the fuselage.
Mr. Sturgell said in a statement that the level of compliance found in the audit showed “that our overall program is working and delivering incredibly high levels of compliance and record levels of safety.” Still, he announced that the agency would make several improvements to oversight of the airlines designed, among other things, to make F.A.A. orders clearer and allow inspectors to raise concerns more quickly.
The F.A.A.’s oversight of the airline industry has recently come under criticism by members of Congress, among others. On Thursday morning, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is scheduled to hold hearings on the agency’s performance.
Les Dorr, an F.A.A. spokesman, said United’s decision to ground the aircraft for inspections was voluntary and not related to the ongoing F.A.A. audit.
Last week, Delta and American Airlines canceled hundreds of flights to allow workers to check wiring on some aircraft.
Ms. McCarthy, the spokeswoman for United, said she did not know how many customers were affected by her airline’s cancellations, but said a 777 aircraft can hold about 340 passengers depending on its configuration. She said United has assigned other aircraft to complete some of the flights; in other cases, passengers have been offered the chance to switch to other flights or other airlines.
She said the Boeing 777 is used in long-distance flights both domestically and internationally. United operates hubs in New York, Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Denver, but she said the cancellations did not affect any one spot in particular.
Ms. McCarthy said the round of inspections were set off after a review of the airline’s maintenance records indicated that the inspections had not been performed. She said she did not know how long the aircraft had gone without undergoing the inspection.
The inspection involves checking the firing mechanism on one of five bottles that make up the fire suppression system in the cargo hold, Ms. McCarthy said. The system is normally tested as part of the pre-flight safety check, according to the airline.
United has a total fleet of 460 aircraft.
Article Tools Sponsored By
By JOHN SULLIVAN
Published: April 2, 2008
United Airlines on Wednesday became the latest air carrier to experience disruptions because of maintenance inspections, as the airline announced that it had temporarily removed its fleet of Boeing 777 aircraft from service to allow for checks, resulting in cancellation of 31 flights.
The inspections, of part of the fire suppression system in the cargo hold, were ordered by the airline after United workers found that scheduled checks of the equipment had not been performed, said Megan McCarthy, a spokeswoman for United. She said 52 aircraft were taken out of service beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening. Inspecting all of the aircraft is expected to take 24 to 36 hours, she said. By Wednesday morning, 14 inspections had been completed.
She said none of the inspections conducted by noon on Wednesday had turned up any problems with the fire suppression systems.
The announcement came just hours before the Federal Aviation Administration released preliminary results of an audit of airlines’ compliance with agency orders known as airworthiness directives. Robert A. Sturgell, the acting administrator of the F.A.A., said the agency had checked compliance with nearly 2,400 such orders and found a 99 percent compliance rate.
The audit was undertaken after it emerged that Southwest Airline had been flown older aircraft without conducting required inspections for cracks in the fuselage.
Mr. Sturgell said in a statement that the level of compliance found in the audit showed “that our overall program is working and delivering incredibly high levels of compliance and record levels of safety.” Still, he announced that the agency would make several improvements to oversight of the airlines designed, among other things, to make F.A.A. orders clearer and allow inspectors to raise concerns more quickly.
The F.A.A.’s oversight of the airline industry has recently come under criticism by members of Congress, among others. On Thursday morning, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is scheduled to hold hearings on the agency’s performance.
Les Dorr, an F.A.A. spokesman, said United’s decision to ground the aircraft for inspections was voluntary and not related to the ongoing F.A.A. audit.
Last week, Delta and American Airlines canceled hundreds of flights to allow workers to check wiring on some aircraft.
Ms. McCarthy, the spokeswoman for United, said she did not know how many customers were affected by her airline’s cancellations, but said a 777 aircraft can hold about 340 passengers depending on its configuration. She said United has assigned other aircraft to complete some of the flights; in other cases, passengers have been offered the chance to switch to other flights or other airlines.
She said the Boeing 777 is used in long-distance flights both domestically and internationally. United operates hubs in New York, Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Denver, but she said the cancellations did not affect any one spot in particular.
Ms. McCarthy said the round of inspections were set off after a review of the airline’s maintenance records indicated that the inspections had not been performed. She said she did not know how long the aircraft had gone without undergoing the inspection.
The inspection involves checking the firing mechanism on one of five bottles that make up the fire suppression system in the cargo hold, Ms. McCarthy said. The system is normally tested as part of the pre-flight safety check, according to the airline.
United has a total fleet of 460 aircraft.