L-1011 Checks Ordered After Crack Is Found
The Federal Aviation Administration today ordered airlines to inspect nearly 100 Lockheed L-1011 jetliners for possible metal fatigue in the wings after a 6 3/4-inch crack was found in the wing of a Delta jet after it landed in Newark, N.J.
The FAA directive, which formally will be sent to the carriers later today or Friday, requires the inspections within 50 flying hours, or about a week, and is unlikely to cause significant disruptions in airline operations, an FAA spokesman said.
Spokesmen for several airlines that operate large numbers of the wide-body jetliners said they already have begun inspecting the planes and anticipate no interruption of scheduled flights.
Rear Wing Support
FAA spokesman Fred Farrar said the inspections are “designed to detect any fatigue crack” in the wing-support structure of the aircraft. The crack in the Delta case was found on a rear wing support, or spar, that runs virtually the length of the wing.
The FAA acted after the National Transportation Safety Board announced it was urging an “immediate inspection” of the L-1011 aircraft for possible metal fatigue because of the incident Nov. 13 involving the Delta jet at Newark.
The FAA directive covers all of the L-1011s that have had at least 10,000 takeoffs and landings.
The wide-body jets carry 250 to 275 passengers. Most of them are flown by Delta, Eastern Airlines and Trans World Airlines.
Jim Ragsdale, a spokesman for Lockheed, said the company issued a service bulletin earlier in the week recommending an inspection as a result of the Newark incident.
