US alerts Nigeria, others on danger of ageing aircraft

LAGOS — The United States,US, government has alerted civil authorities, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, of structural defects suffered by ageing aircraft and has given manufacturers and carriers in America deadlines to intensify and streamline inspection of metallic skeleton and skin which cause fatigue to airplanes.
Except Arik Air, which started operations with new planes four years ago, virtually all other airlines in the country, including Aero, Dana Air, Chanchangi, Associated, Air Nigeria, IRS, amongst others, have a mix of relatively young and ageing aircraft in their fleet
According to the FAA, cracks in many aircraft in service for two decades or more are not reliably captured by current inspection methods, and this applies to much of the airplanes flying in Nigeria.
Although the deadline issued by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, is particularly for those operating in the America, majority of the aircraft operating in Nigeria are not only ageing, but also made in the U.S.
While the FAA gave manufacturers between 18 and 60 months to comply with the new rule, depending on the plane involved, airlines were given between 30 to 72 months to incorporate the changes into their inspection routines.
“Commercial aircraft manufacturers and airlines must take new steps to protect thousands of jets from serious structural fatigue as they age.
“The Federal Aviation Administration is requiring manufacturers and airlines to intensify and streamline inspections of the metallic skeleton and skin of aircraft,” the U.S. agency stated in a directive issued weekend.
The FAA stated that the defect was mainly caused by repeated changes in pressurisation during flight, adding that it had led to a handful of incidents in recent years.
“In 2009, Southwest Airlines agreed to pay USD$7.5 million to settle allegations that it flew Boeing 737s without performing required structural inspections.
“In another Southwest case, safety investigators said structural fatigue caused a rupture in a plane’s fuselage during a flight last year. The plane, at 35,000 feet, lost pressure but landed safely.
“US safety investigators also blamed faulty maintenance and lax FAA oversight for the crash of an ageing seaplane in Florida that killed 20 people in 2005. Fatigue cracks were at the centre of that investigation,” said FAA.
“At issue are tiny cracks, some of them visible, that often form on a plane as it ages. Individually, the cracks are of little concern. But they can weaken an aircraft’s structure if permitted to spread and link with other cracks. Fatigue is understood up to a point,” the FAA said in raising concern about operating jets beyond a certain age.

Source:http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/11/us-alerts-nigeria-others-on-danger-of-ageing-aircraft/