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Groton Daily Independent
Friday, April 20, 2018 ~ Vol. 25 - No. 280 ~ 33 of 43
ously, and the time to complete a final regulation varies based on many factors including complexity of the issue.
On Wednesday, the agency said it would issue a directive in the next two weeks to require the ultrasonic inspections of fan blades on some CFM56-7B engines after they reach a certain number of takeoffs and landings. Blades that fail inspection would need to be replaced.
Southwest announced its own program for similar inspections of its 700-plane fleet over the next month. When asked why the airline resisted the proposal last year, spokeswoman Brandy King said Southwest needed more time to find individual suspect blades within certain engines. She said Southwest had already inspected half of the blades identified in the engine maker’s notice before Tuesday’s accident.
A Delta Air Lines spokesman said that airline had done all the necessary inspections, but he didn’t know how many planes that involved. American Airlines said it has inspected blades on the oldest affected en- gines, and United Airlines said it has started inspecting its 737s.
While recommendations from airplane and engine manufacturers like CFM are not mandatory — only regulators can force airlines to act — the carriers often follow the recommendations to reduce their liability in case of accidents. Critics said the airlines were slow to act.
“The public should be worried (because) a manufacturer sent out a warning, and Southwest and oth- ers didn’t do it,” said Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general of the Transportation Department, FAA’s parent agency. “They didn’t get the inspections done, and when the FAA was going to put out (an order) they all objected.”
Last year, the agency estimated that an order would cover 220 engines on U.S. airlines, and each Boeing 737 has two CFM engines. Airlines say the number of engines needing blade inspections will be much higher, partly because since last summer more engines have hit the number of flights triggering an inspection.
The FAA estimated the industry’s labor costs to comply would be just $37,400, but that doesn’t include the cost of new blades. One repair shop said new blades cost $50,000 each while overhauled ones are less than $30,000. Each CFM56 engine has 24 blades.
Tuesday’s emergency broke a string of eight straight years without a fatal accident involving a U.S. airliner.
Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the NTSB, said the dangerous kind of engine breakup that occurred Tues- day — called an uncontained failure because pieces were shot out like shrapnel — should not have hap- pened. But he and other aviation experts have cautioned against draw any broad conclusions yet about the safety of CFM56 engines or Boeing 737 jets.
CFM International says the engines are used on 6,700 planes around the world. Uncontained engine failures are rare — about three or four a year, according to Sumwalt.
It is unknown whether the FAA’s original directive would have forced Southwest to quickly inspect the engine that blew up.
Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said the plane was inspected on Sunday and nothing appeared out of order. ___
AP Airlines Writer David Koenig reported from Dallas.
Reds fire manager Bryan Price after 3-15 start By JOE KAY, AP Sports Writer
CINCINNATI (AP) — The Reds’ worst start since the Great Depression prompted a quick hook for Bryan Price.
Cincinnati fired its fifth-year manager on Thursday because of a 3-15 start, the first managerial change in the major leagues this season. The Reds hadn’t changed managers so early in a season since Tony Perez was fired after 44 games in 1993.
It’s the first time since 2002 that a manager has been fired in April, according to ESPN. Four managers were fired that April, including Phil Garner after an 0-6 start with the Tigers that matched the quickest hook in major league history.
Price managed a rebuilding effort that relied on rookies more than any other team in the majors during