International Boeing Incident Again, Denver This Time (Engine Cover Falls Off During Take Off)

[Siver!]

Boeing plane engine cover falls off prompting investigation

The Southwest Airlines flight had to return to Denver International airport shortly after taking off.

www.bbc.co.uk

Airline regulators in the US have begun an investigation after an engine cowling on a Boeing 737-800 fell off during take-off and struck a wing flap.
The Southwest Airlines flight returned safely to Denver International airport at about 08:15 local time (15:15 GMT) after originally departing to Houston.
The aircraft had 135 passengers and six crew members on board and rose to about 10,300 feet (3,140m) before landing.
The incident comes amid manufacturing and safety concerns at Boeing.
Southwest Airlines said its maintenance teams would review the Boeing 737-800 after its cowling, which covers the plane's engine, fell off. The airline confirmed it was responsible for maintenance of such parts.
"We apologise for the inconvenience of their delay, but place our highest priority on ultimate safety for our customers and employees," a statement said.
The plane was manufactured in 2015 according to regulator Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, and the 737-800 is an earlier generation of the 737 from the latest Max model.
Both aircraft are powered by CFM56 engines - a joint venture between General Electric Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines.
The FAA said the Boeing aircraft was towed to the gate after landing.
Boeing declined to comment when approached by BBC News, referring questions to Southwest for information about the airline's plane and fleet operations.
Southwest said it would fly passengers on another plane to Houston about three hours behind schedule.
Boeing has been under scrutiny following a dramatic mid-air blowout in January, in which passengers on the flight from Portland, Oregon, to California narrowly escaped serious injury.
On Friday, it was announced Boeing paid $160m (£126m) to Alaska Air to make up for losses the airline suffered following the emergency.
Regulators temporarily grounded nearly 200 Boeing 737 Max 9 jets after a door plug fell from the Alaska aircraft shortly after take-off.
Boeing has been trying to repair its reputation for years after crashes in 2018 and 2019 involving a different version of the 737 Max plane killed 346 people.
Its popular 737 Max planes were subsequently grounded globally for more than 18 months.

---

Boeing firefighting reputational issues as we speak

 

[HeLLMuTT]

 

[jefferz]

This is a failure of Southwest to maintain their equipment.
If Boeing was doing the maintenance on the plane, you could add it to the list. But this is an 8-year-old plane, maintained by Southwest.

 

[nostradumbass]

I was just on a Boeing plane a couple weeks ago and joke with my friend on the way to airport that it was a Boeing death trap so there was a 50/50 shot the plane falls apart in the sky, then right after they closed the door they announced a delay to "fix an issue with the plane" and delayed takeoff by 2 hours.

 

[IDGETKTFO]

And this is why you will never get me on a plane.

 

[milliniar]

And this is why you will never get me on a plane.

Still statistically safer than driving.

 

[IDGETKTFO]

Still statistically safer than driving.

Statistically, I'll take my chances driving in cars and trains.

 

[LeonardoBjj]

- I thought China was the one with bad quality products

 

[west42]

Boeing needs to hire Beetlejuice from Howard Stern to do their media.
"Well, like, you know, stuff's going to fall off sometimes."

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

We can fly to the moon but not from LA to SF

 

[WhiteMousse]

This is a failure of Southwest to maintain their equipment.
If Boeing was doing the maintenance on the plane, you could add it to the list. But this is an 8-year-old plane, maintained by Southwest.

This is correct, and it's crucial to assign effects like this to the proper cause.

Having said that, in the context of my own personal being's safety, the stories about airlines as a whole make me want to never fly again.

 

[RemyR]

Friendly daily reminder that a Boeing whistleblower who claimed that if he is found dead it is not suicide was found dead by "apparent suicide"

 

[method115]

This is correct, and it's crucial to assign effects like this to the proper cause.

Having said that, in the context of my own personal being's safety, the stories about airlines as a whole make me want to never fly again.

Yea I need to stop reading these stories. Have a flight to Europe soon and it's making me nervous.

 

[Siver!]

Yea I need to stop reading these stories. Have a flight to Europe soon and it's making me nervous.

We once flew to Qatar and the map showed us where we were at the time, and even though it made no sense, I was like "we're basically flying over Iraq in the pitch black", and that was a weird one. We weren't exactly friends with Iraq at the time.

That's the most weirdly nervous I've felt on a plane, but the insecurity really made no sense.

 

[syct23]

Somewhere up in Corporate,

Someone is cataloging another case into the “Reasons to Replace Workers with AI Manufacturing”.

Wake up humans and start doing your jobs correctly, they are paying attention…

 

[method115]

We once flew to Qatar and the map showed us where we were at the time, and even though it made no sense, I was like "we're basically flying over Iraq in the pitch black", and that was a weird one. We weren't exactly friends with Iraq at the time.

That's the most weirdly nervous I've felt on a plane, but the insecurity really made no sense.

Over land I don't think I'd ever be nervous cause it's pretty much crash and die. It's over the ocean that I get a bit more nervous. I feel like surviving has a higher chance and now I'm stuck in the fucking ocean. I don't even know if it's true that you have a higher chance just feels that way.

 

[WhiteMousse]

Yea I need to stop reading these stories. Have a flight to Europe soon and it's making me nervous.

Singapore me. Might not do it

 

[LeonardoBjj]

Friendly daily reminder that a Boeing whistleblower who claimed that if he is found dead it is not suicide was found dead by "apparent suicide"

Boeing whistleblower’s safety claims under investigation by FAA, reports say​

Federal Aviation Administration looking into claims US aircraft maker knew of flaws but covered them up to speed production

Claims that Boeing knew of safety flaws in the manufacture of one of its largest passenger jet aircraft, but covered them up to speed production, are under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), according to a reports.

The information came from a whistleblower inside the beleaguered US aircraft maker, and relates to the structural integrity of the 787 Dreamliner jet, a report published by the New York Times alleges.


The engineer, identified as Sam Salehpour, told the newspaper that sections of the fuselage of the Dreamliner were improperly fastened together and could eventually break apart mid-flight.

Salehpour said he had worked for the company for more than a decade, including on the jets in question, and claimed Boeing employed “shortcuts” in the manufacturing process intended to reduce production bottlenecks – but which ultimately compromised safety.

Shares in Boeing, which has suffered a succession of recent engineering misfortunes since 346 people died in two 737 Max jets in 2018 and 2019, fell 1.6% to $178.65 on Tuesday afternoon after the FAA confirmed the investigation, Reuters reported.

In a statement to the Times, Debra Katz, an attorney for Salehpour, said her client repeatedly warned the company that changes to the manufacturing process for the 787 jets threatened their integrity, but he was ignored and then transferred.

“This is the culture that Boeing has allowed to exist. This is a culture that prioritizes production of planes and pushes them off the line even when there are serious concerns about the structural integrity of those planes and their production process,” Katz’s statement said.

The company, in a statement, confirmed that manufacturing changes had taken place, but it insisted that safety had not been compromised.

“These claims about the structural integrity of the 787 are inaccurate and do not represent the comprehensive work Boeing has done to ensure the quality and long-term safety of the aircraft,” it said.

Workers were encouraged “to speak up when issues arise”, the statement added. And the statement said that “retaliation is strictly prohibited at Boeing”.

In separate remarks to the Times, Boeing spokesperson Paul Lewis said engineers had tested the Dreamliner extensively and “determined that this is not an immediate safety of flight issue”.

He added that the evaluation was ongoing. “Our engineers are completing complex analysis to determine if there may be a long-term fatigue concern for the fleet in any area of the airplane,” he said.

“This would not become an issue for the in-service fleet for many years to come, if ever, and we are not rushing the team so that we can ensure that analysis is comprehensive.”

The FAA, according to Reuters, confirmed it had spoken to Salehpour, whose lawyers wrote to the administration’s head, Michael Whitaker, in January stating that he had made observations working on the 787 manufacturing line in 2021.

The wide-bodied Dreamliner was hailed as the fuel-efficient future of the aviation industry but soon turned into a nightmare for Boeing.

The fleet was grounded globally in 2013 after a series of safety incidents, including fires caused by faulty batteries. And deliveries were temporarily halted in 2021 following concerns over incorrectly sized panel gap fillers – and again last year after bulkhead pressure problems that turned out to be a data analysis error.

Despite its troubles, it is still one of Boeing’s most popular aircraft, selling more than any other wide-bodied jet, the company claims.

Reported issues with the 777 are also under scrutiny, the FAA said, although it did not give further details or indicate how long its inquiries will take.

Whitaker did not address Salehpour’s claims against Boeing but told the Times that the company “must commit to real and profound improvements”.

“Making foundational change will require a sustained effort from Boeing’s leadership, and we are going to hold them accountable every step of the way,” he said.

Pressure on the aviation behemoth grew further this week when an engine cowling fell from a Southwest Airlines 737-800 jet taking off from Denver airport. In recent months, Boeing has experienced a number of similar incidents, the most serious being the inflight blowout of a large fuselage panel of an Alaskan Airlines 737 Max 9 aircraft in January.

Dave Calhoun, Boeing’s long-serving chief executive, announced last month that he plans to step down at the end of this year.

Reuters contributed reporting

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/apr/09/boeing-whistleblower-faa-investigation-report

 

[Natural Order]

Still statistically safer than driving.

It's immeasurably safer. Injury or death by plane is a statistical insignificance. Barely noticeable on mortality tables.

Driving is in your top 10 ways to go.