EUROCYPRIA, like other airlines in the world, is currently carrying out inspections on its six Boeing 737s after US authorities this week ordered American airline companies to run checks in the wake of the explosion of one of the aircraft in Japan last week.
“Each one of our Boeings is being investigated in accordance with the instructions of the manufacturer,” Eurocypria chairman Lazaros Savvides said yesterday.
He said two checks had been completed and nothing untoward was found. A check was almost completed on a third Boeing and the other three would be completed on September 4. “Each plane takes 16 man hours,” he said.
Savvides said checks were carried out continuously in any case. Cyprus Airways engineers check the planes that are based in Cyprus, while those based in Crete are checked there by Olympic Airways.
There are also what Savvides called C checks, which are major checks on the aircraft. He said the checks were done taking into consideration all of the latest information.
On Monday, US aviation authorities ordered emergency inspections of newer model Boeing Co. 737 jetliners in response to the explosion and fire that destroyed a China Airlines plane in Japan last week.
There are more than 780 of the affected planes registered to US airlines and another 1,500 flying overseas. Foreign aviation safety authorities usually follow FAA recommendations. On Wednesday, the FAA shortened to 10 days from 24 the time airlines have to check the 737 models 600, 700, 800 and 900. Airlines “were working diligently” to complete the inspections, a Boeing spokesman said in the US earlier this week.
The FAA, working with Boeing, wanted airlines to ensure that a nut inside the movable slat system on each wing did not fall off and possibly damage an adjacent fuel tank. This was apparently what happened to the China Airlines Boeing as it sat on a runway at Okinawa’s Naha airport in Japan.
The plane had just landed and exploded seconds after the 157 passengers and eight crew members were clear of the aircraft.
Boeing said it issued a service letter to airlines in 2005 after receiving four reports of loose slat nuts. In one case, a nut fell off a bolt and punctured a fuel tank, but there was no fire. The advisory was updated in 2006 and again last month.
