This archive report was first published on 31 October 2019.
October 31, 2019
Boeing has announced that up to 50 of its 737NG planes have been grounded globally due to cracks found in the aircraft.
The move comes after Australian national carrier Qantas took one of the planes out of service and said it would urgently inspect 32 others, assuring passengers that they had nothing to fear.
Qantas' decision followed an announcement by authorities in Seoul that nine of the planes were grounded in South Korea in early October, including five operated by Korean Air.
Boeing had previously reported a problem with the model's "pickle fork," a part that helps bind the wing to the fuselage.
US regulators ordered immediate inspections of aircraft that had seen heavy use, prompting Boeing to ground the planes for repair.
According to a Boeing spokesperson, less than five percent of 1,000 planes had cracks detected and were grounded for repair.
"We would never operate an aircraft unless it was completely safe to do so," Qantas head of engineering Chris Snook said.
However, the discovery has heightened fears that the scale of the 737NGs' problem may have been underestimated.
"This aircraft has been removed from service for repair," Qantas said in a statement, adding it had hastened its inspections of 32 other 737NG planes to be completed by Friday.
Boeing is still trying to restore its safety reputation after two 737 MAX crashes last year that killed 346 people and highlighted problems with the planes' flight handling software.
