JAS grounds planes
Cracks in US engine parts ground 120 flights in Japan
19.01.2004 [21:00]
Japan Air System said it had cancelled 120 domestic flights affecting 7,000 passengers on Monday after discovering cracks in US-made engine parts from at least seven McDonnell Douglas aircraft.
JAS, a subsidiary of Asia's top carrier Japan Airlines System (JAL Group), reported engine trouble on January 6 and 7 in an MD-81 and an MD-87 jet and asked US engine manufacturer Pratt and Whitney to check the engine parts.
Engineers from the US company discovered cracks in engine compressors from the two aircraft and JAS then conducted its own investigation on engine parts used in six other McDonnell Douglas jets and found the same type of cracks in engine parts from three MD-87s and two MD-81s planes.
The MD-87 plane has a capacity of 134 passengers while the MD-81 airplane can carry 163 passengers.
The discovery of cracks in at least seven planes prompted JAS to investigate the other 19 MD jets in its fleet, 14 MD-81s and five MD-87s, resulting in the cancellation of 120 domestic flights on Monday alone.
"It is regrettable that the move will affect some 7,000 passengers. At this moment, we cannot tell when the inspection of the 19 aircraft will end," said JAS spokesman Hirohide Ishikawa.
On January 1, two passengers were slightly injured after the left wing of a JAS airplane carrying 168 people clipped a runway in southwestern Japan.
AFP, Jan 19