Qantas 737 cracks: airline pulls three Boeing planes from service

Qantas has pulled three of its Boeing 737 planes from service after finding hairline cracks but have said they will not ground all 737s they fly. Three planes have now been affected by cracks in the “pickle fork” structure between the wing and the fuselage. On Thursday, the aircraft engineers union said the airline should ground the entire 737 fleet. But in a press conference on Friday morning, the airline said it had checked all the relevant planes, and would not ground any more so as to “minimise disruption to customers”. Under global aviation regulations, 737s have to be urgently checked for cracks, within seven days, if they have completed more than 30,000 cycles. Planes with between 22,6000 and 30,000 cycles, also have to be checked, but within 7 months. One cycle is effectively one takeoff and landing. For Qantas, all three of the planes with cracks were between 22,600 and 30,000 cycles. The airline has no 737s with more than 30,000 cycles. On Friday, the airline said it had now checked all planes with more than 22,600 cycles, and found no further cracks. Andrew David, the head of Qantas domestic said: “We are focused, right now, on those in scope, which is the 33 that have done between 22,600 cycles and 30,000 cycles”. <br/>