Erasing the Eyebrows

Air Safety Week, Feb 14, 2005

Boeing [BA] in late January rolled out its first 737 without eyebrow windows -- the four small windows above the front windshield. There always was a good reason for these windows (not totally explained by the Boeing blurb below). Some venturesome souls used to take star and sun shots through them for high latitude and overwater astro-nav (or so we are told).

Additionally those windows would have always come in handy for keeping visual with the runway during circling maneuvers when seated in "the other" seat (and flying "cross-cockpit"). Plus it was always a good place for a chart when you didn't need it. But finally, crew resource management (CRM) has found its way into aircraft design. Now with CRM, we simply have the pilot in the other seat keep an eye on the runway for us and tell us how our turn onto finals is going. But we're not entirely sure that's safer.

Boeing's 'Eyebrows' Explanation

"In the past the eyebrow windows helped provide better crew visibility, but today's advanced navigation systems have made those windows obsolete. The design change reduces airplane weight by 20 pounds and eliminates approximately 300 hours of periodic inspections per airplane. Retrofit kits to cover eyebrow windows will be available mid-2006 for the in-service 737 fleet."

Source: Boeing

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