China Airlines B737 Fire at Okinawa

[armchairpilot94116]

note: The TAipei Times is not a paragon of correct English usage at best.

[gengis]

"They changed them, rather than retorquing them to the correct value? Why?"

You have to understand the Chinese psyche. It's always a blame game, leading to scapegoating. Because it's a loss of face to admit they screwed up, and a VERY massive loss of face if it involved someone high up. CAL are the epitome of this.

[VONKLUFFEN]

....note: The TAipei Times is not a paragon of correct English usage at best....
neither SO many around the world , me included. But to raise the point is totally irrelevant, armchairpilot.
Gengis:
Hope you are not taking the news as a fact. Don't make the same mistake reporters do thinking they are the force to beat on the 21st century.
Be Good...

[armchairpilot94116]

what I meant was that CAL may have been misquoted by the Taipei Times or misrepresented in some way.

Did they replace the bolts they found to be insufficiently torqued or did they indeed just re-torque them?

Taipei Times is an internet paper that sometimes lets the story get in the way of the truth.

[VONKLUFFEN]

:D Thx arm...Case closed!
If i get info what was done and why during the standard AD b 4 the accident and after I will let you know guys..:}

[egsc_h17]

Received the message below from CAL today. At first I thought it was being sent in a professional context and was a little confused, but then realised it was a rather detailed customer communication.
CAL Completes 737-800 Fleet Inspections
In Accordance with CAA & FAA Directive
(September 8, 2007)
China Airlines has completed the required inspections on its own and Mandarin Airlines' 13 Boeing 737-800 aircraft, according to a Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) emergency airworthiness directive (EAD). In order to ensure that all the planes are safe for flight operations, Taiwan's CAA has sent inspectors to audit the inspection work.
The FAA's EAD was first issued on Aug. 25 at US time. The FAA ordered airlines to inspect wing slats on certain newer Boeing 737 models within 24 days, and every 3,000 flying cycles thereafter. Taiwan's CAA, at the same time, issued the directive accordingly. China Airlines immediately mobilized a dedicated team to perform the inspections quickly and thoroughly.
FAA issued a second EAD on Aug. 28 at US time. Instead of 24 days, the FAA urged airlines to complete the inspections within 10 days after receipt of the new EAD. Meanwhile, the FAA added sophisticated borescope inspection techniques as a more detailed method of inspection.
In accordance with the new EAD issued by both CAA and FAA, CAL grounded every 737 aircraft for 18 hours in order to perform detailed inspections. The maintenance team used a bore scope to enter the slat track, the downstop assembly and the slat track housing, in order to get detailed, up-close pictures on a computer screen to verify that the parts are properly installed. As scheduled, CAL completed the inspection in a timely fashion, to ensure that all the planes are safe for flight operations.
The incident is subject to an ongoing investigation. No matter what the cause turns out to be, China Airlines is continuously reviewing its safety measures in every detail, in order to provide the best possible service to its customers.

[armchairpilot94116]

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070822TDY03003.htm

firemen werent the fastest to arrive at the scene but braved high interior temperatures to check for anyone still left in the aircraft while the fire was raging.

[Guava Tree]

Taiwan's CAL replaces chairman after accident in Japan
Oct 2, 2007, 11:49 GMT
Taipei - The head of Taiwan's China Airlines (CAL) on Tuesday stepped down as chairman, weeks after he offered to resign over the explosion of a CAL plane at Naha Airport on the Japanese island of Okinawa.
CAL's second in command, Ringo Chao, officially replaced Philip Wei as chairman of the airline as of Tuesday, CAL said in a statement.
'The board of directors voted identically to appoint Mr Ringo Chao as chairman and president of the company, effective as soon as a hand-over ceremony held immediately after the appointment,' it said.
The change meant Chao, the incumbent CAL president, would hold both the chairman and the president posts.
During the changeover ceremony Chao called for improvement of flight safety. 'Apart from the rapid progress over the past few years, CAL needs to further enhance its flight safety,' he was quoted as saying in the statement.
The airline, with a string of accidents on its record, including 10 deadly ones since 1970, has been trying hard to improve its image following a fresh accident at Naha Airport on August 20.
The CAL Boeing 737-800 broke into three sections after an explosion, likely caused by a bolt on the right wing that pierced the tank of the ill-fate plane, resulting in a massive fuel leak. All 165 people on board miraculously escaped to safety.
The US Federal Aviation Administration later issued a worldwide notice demanding thorough checks of the 737 series.
Philip Wei, who followed Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian in a Central American visit at the time of the accident, offered verbally to resign to take responsibility.
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/business/news/article_1361724.php/Taiwans_CAL_replaces_chairman_after_accident_in_Japan

[armchairpilot94116]

Typical Asian response. However, unless he was the person who did not properly install the bolt at Boeing (as indications seem to be that may well be where the problem started) it hardly seems to be his fault.

But thats what the public seems to demand in Asia.

[Guava Tree]

Hi ACP,
Thanks for your input.
94116 must be your zip code.
My information is that Philip Wei is now 65 years old and has worked in China Airlines for more than 30 years. Long enough to learn what an aircraft "Service Bulletin" is.
We have from
http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=TopNews&article=UPI-1-20070828-07312000-bc-us-boeingjets.xml
Boeing spokesman Jim Proulx told the Post that Boeing had received four reports in the past about loose nuts in slats and said Boeing had issued several bulletins since December 2005, the most recent going out last month.
B 737 -800 B18616 was delivered in July 2002.
Philip Wei was President of China Airlines from 2002 to 2005. From 16 November 2005 he served as Chairman.
His high position gave him the authority and obligation to make sure that "Middle Management", who love to hide many things and confuse many things , were receiving and actually following Service Bulletins.

[armchairpilot94116]

Good guess. WAS my zip code at one time :)

Another source said he was retiring anyway and wouldve retired if the accident had not happened. But big Asian companies do often see chairmen resigning to take social responsibility even if they had no direct responsibility. Because as you pointed out the responsibility starts from the top.

However I personally prefer to have a chairman who is tough and able. And when the **** hits the fan will be able to not only ride it out but take charge and get whatever needs getting done done !!!

I personally would not leave such an office unless I was physically removed. But thats just me.

[slip and turn]

I was on a 737-800 yesterday sitting down the back next to the starboard wing.

The slats are in four sections I think or is it just three? Anyway on final as the slats were further deployed from first stage to the second stage I am sure I noticed fouling between the two outer sections resulting in a small "flick" of the outermost segment as the edges of the two sections interacted.

As the wing was inflight and loaded at that point, it would be almost impossible to recreate on the ground without artificially loading the wing again.

Anyone seen minor fouling like this before?