The US FAA said Tuesday it was revising its order requiring checks for structural cracks in Boeing 737 NG planes to cover a larger area after the company said additional cracks had been found. The FAA first said in September it was ordering checks for cracks on what is known as the "pickle fork," a part that attaches the plane's fuselage to the wing structure. Checks were required within 7 days on planes with heavy usage. Boeing said Tuesday after completing a round of inspections for cracking on some 737 NGs with a large number of take-offs and landings, one airplane was found to have a small crack in an adjacent location. To date, less than 5% of the 1,200 airplanes that have undergone the initial inspection were found to have cracks, Boeing said. <br/>
general
Aviation regulators around the world need to do a better job of assessing hazards in aircraft designs and understanding how pilots might be tripped up by complex technology in the wake of the 2 fatal crashes on Boeing’s 737 Max, the chief of the FAA said Tuesday. FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said the agency is addressing concerns raised by several reviews of the crashes after a safety system on the plane went haywire. “Going forward beyond the Max, some key things are emerging regarding aircraft certification processes, not only in the US but around the world,” Dickson said. “I’m committed to addressing each of these issues.” Dickson offered no specifics on the potential changes in aircraft certification and the agency hasn’t announced a formal process to rewrite its regulations. <br/>
Serving airlines that will operate flights lasting 14 hours or longer is a "key consideration" for Boeing's global growth strategy over the next 20 years, an executive said Tuesday. Those flights have grabbed headlines in recent weeks as Qantas tested a 19-hour flight between New York and Sydney using a Boeing 787-9 and prepares to test an even longer flight between Sydney and London with the same plane. "Globally, if long haul is growing 5% per year, ultra-long haul is growing twice that per year," Darren Hulst, a MD at Boeing, said while discussing market forecasts for the next 20 years. Growth in the ultra-long haul sector highlights changing habits among passengers, who are willing to travel longer. It is also a tribute to the increasing fuel efficiency of aircraft that allow for such routes to be flown profitably. <br/>
Boeing said it has lost orders for about 200 of its 737 MAX jets this year because of airline bankruptcies and customers swapping out for other models from the plane maker. While Boeing said there have been no direct cancellations because of the global grounding of the jet in March, last month its MAX backlog was reduced by another 18 planes as 2 customers changed existing orders. The company currently has outstanding orders for 4,525 MAX jets. Customers routinely swap aircraft orders, but the MAX backlog is under intense investor scrutiny following repeated delays in the plane’s return to service following two fatal crashes. Air Lease Corp swapped 15 of its MAX orders for 5 787 Dreamliners in October, according to Boeing’s latest order and delivery update Tuesday. <br/>
Malaysia’s civil aviation authority has requested a reassessment from the US FAA, as it vows to make “serious changes” to address apparent shortcomings. The move comes as the FAA downgraded the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) to Category 2, following an audit in April. The country has held a Category 1 rating since 2003. The lowered rating means that CAAM does not meet ICAO safety standards, the FAA says. “[The CAAM] is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record-keeping, and/or inspection procedures”, adds the FAA. Consequently, Malaysia’s carriers will not be able to start new services into the US. Both the CAAM and FAA stress that the rating was not of Malaysia’s airlines, but of the CAAM itself. <br/>