More problems found in third day of aircraft inspections

February 13, 2000
Web posted at: 12:39 a.m. EST (0539 GMT)

In this story: Aircraft will be repaired before returning to service Alaska Airlines will take corrective action RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Federal Aviation Administration has found 15 aircraft with "varying degrees of problems" in the jackscrew mechanism of the horizontal stabilizer.

The problems ranged from "metal shavings in the jackscrew lubricant, to metallic residue in the grease and one jackscrew assembly with no lubricant," an FAA statement said.

The jackscrew drives the plane's horizontal stabilizer on its tail wing up and down and limits its range of travel. Accident investigators are probing the possibility that a tail wing problem may have caused the crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261. The MD-80 airliner crashed into the ocean off southern California on January 31, killing all 88 people aboard.

The FAA put out a mandatory inspection order Friday ordering all U.S. airlines to inspect the jackscrew assembly. The order affects 1,100 aircraft in the United States: MD-80's, MD-90's, DC-9's and Boeing 717's.

The problems were found in 4 Alaska Airlines jets, 4 Delta Airlines jets, 2 AirTran jets, and one each from American Airlines, Continental, TWA, Northwest and Hawaiian Air.

The FAA statement said it is "premature to draw any conclusions" from the reports.

"Aircraft with damage in the jackscrew area will be repaired before going back into service under the terms of the FAA's airworthiness directive, and some have already been repaired and placed back in service," the statement said Saturday.

Alaska Airlines announced Saturday it has inspected all 34 of its Boeing MD-80 jets and returned 21 of them to service. "All 21 aircraft that we've returned to service have been inspected not once, but twice, and given a clean bill of health," said Bill Ayer, the airliner's president, in a statement

Thirteen of the planes remained out of service. Five were undergoing scheduled heavy maintenance. They have been inspected, and no irregularities were found, the statement said.

Two of the planes remain grounded after "discrepancies with the jackscrews" were discovered Thursday morning. They included metal shavings or filings in and around the jackscrew assembly.

Six planes, including one undergoing scheduled heavy maintenance, were found to have metallic dust or residue in and around the jackscrew assembly, "which could be the result of normal wear."

"The jackscrew assembly is designed to wear over time, leaving only a powder residue," the Alaska Airlines statement said, citing Boeing as its source.

"Alaska's interpretation of the FAA directive is that it does not allow any non-ferrous material, including dust or residue, in the area. As a precaution, Alaska has notified the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board of its findings and will take any corrective action required before releasing aircraft back to service."

FAA inspections find more jackscrew problems on MD-80 series planes
February 11, 2000
FAA to order urgent inspections of all MD-80 series aircraft
February 10, 2000
Boeing urges all airlines to inspect stabilizers on 4 jet models
February 9, 2000
NTSB: Alaska plane may have begun breaking up before fatal dive
February 8, 2000
Memorial held for Alaska Airlines crash victims
February 5, 2000
Noises heard by crew before Alaska Airlines crash
February 5, 2000
NTSB: 'Loud noise' heard before Alaska Airlines crash
February 4, 2000

Alaska Airlines
  • Latest Information
United States Coast Guard Home Page
National Transportation Safety Board
Federal Aviation Administration
The Boeing Company
  • MD-80: Specifications
U.S. Navy
  • Navy assists in receovery operations for Alaskan Air Flight 261
Naval Air Station Point Mugu
Los Angeles World Airports
Channel Islands National Park
Boeing MD-80 and MD-90 Family
DC-9 Family
Boeing 717-200

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.