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What's Wrong With All Those Planes?And why didn't anyone notice at some point in the past 28 years?

By Chris Wilson
Posted Friday, April 11, 2008, at 7:02 PM ET
American Airlines airplanes

American Airlines cancelled more than 3,000 flights in the past week as it grounded 300 Boeing passenger jets in order to comply with stepped-up enforcement of safety inspections. The affected airplanes, from Boeing's MD-80 series, each hold up to 172 passengers and are often described as the "workhorse" of American's fleet, accounting for nearly half of its planes. So, what was the problem?

Maybe nothing. The current inspections are the result of a rigorous safety review ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration after it discovered that Southwest Airlines had failed to inspect 46 of its Boeing 737s for cracks in the fuselage material. This entailed an audit of airlines' compliance with government safety guidelines, known as "airworthiness directives."

The guideline that grounded the fleet of MD-80s at American Airlines relates to a bundle of wires that power a hydraulic pump in the wheel well. Airworthiness Directive 2006-15-15, which went into effect on Sept. 5, 2006, and gave airlines 18 months to comply, requires technicians to better secure the wire bundle to the wall of the well with fasteners at close intervals. (This makes them less likely to catch fire.) Though the MD-80 has been flying since 1980, Boeing regularly issues "alert service bulletins" with recommendations on how to improve safety on its aircraft. The FAA directive was based on a Boeing bulletin from July 2005.

While officials from all agencies have characterized the inspections as abundantly cautious, frayed wires have caused problems before. The extensive investigation into the crash of TWA Flight 800, a Boeing 747, found that an electric fire likely caused an explosion in the fuel tank.

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Chris Wilson is an editorial assistant at Slate in Washington, D.C.
Photograph of American Airlines planes by Mario Tama/Getty Images.
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Note from the Fray Editor

Not to be read before flying: an "Explainer" like this will always bring out technical expertise and conspiracy theories. Don't miss the story of the mysterious red jelly…

Comment from the Fray

Essentially, an AD was not being complied with for some reason and the FAA either wasn't paid off or just hadn't noticed. While I haven't read the AD personally, the non-technical description given by the author of this article doesn't make it sound like a tough job to accomplish. It just makes me wonder how many other hundreds of AD's aren't being complied with. As an old FAR 135 operator, I've had my feet held to the fire for a lot less.

--AlaskaMan

(To reply, click here)

Consider these two points.

1. People with the smarts to be airline pilots could make more money with more job security doing something else, but they spend years working for next to nothing flying commuter puddle jumpers--because they love to fly. At the corporate level, the same thing: a lot of wannabees who think it would be pretty cool to run an airline, so we have more airlines than the market can support. The market would eventually clear these guys out, except...

2. Lenient bankruptcy laws allow financially non-viable airlines to continue in service, essentially requiring creditors to subsidize cheap airfares which in turn drag down other airlines

--HB Freddie

(To reply, click here)

(4/14)