FAA orders inspection of Boeing 747 fuselages in connection with China Airlines crash

Airline Industry Information, Feb 6, 2003

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2003 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

US federal safety regulators have ordered new inspections of all Boeing 747 fuselages in connection with the China Airlines crash in May 2002.

On 25 May 2002, a China Airlines aircraft crashed into the Taiwan Strait during a flight from Taipei, Taiwan to Hong Kong. The aircraft - a 22-year-old Boeing 747-200 that was to be decommissioned - departed from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, some 40 kilometres south of Taipei, with 206 passengers and 19 crew members on aboard. About 20 minutes into the flight the aircraft broke into four pieces at an altitude of over 30,000 feet.

Following an investigation into the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered US operators of Boeing 747 aircraft to check if a metal repair patch, or doubler, was used to cover scratches or cracks on the underside of the fuselage near the aircraft's tail.

Investigators allegedly discovered scratches and a 15-inch crack under a doubler that had been attached to the aircraft after the tail hit a runway in 1980. This may have lead to metal fatigue which could have caused the crash, reported The Associated Press.

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