Boeing says up to 50 737NG planes grounded after cracks found in them

Aircraft manufacturer, Boeing, on October 31, stated that it had grounded up to 50 of its 737NG planes. The announcement came after cracks were found in them, in a blow to the company following two deadly 737 MAX crashes. Qantas became the latest airline to ground the Boeing plane in its fleet and added that it would be inspecting the other 32 Boeing 737NG planes to ensure that a potential disaster is averted.

Boeing 737NG planes grounded

The announcement by the Australian carrier came after the concerned officials in Seoul, South Korea, stated that a total of 9 planes had been grounded including 5 aircraft that were a part of the Korean Airs' fleet. While talking to an international media outlet, Boeing's representative mentioned that nearly 5 per cent of the 1000 planes had cracks detected in them and were grounded for the necessary repairs.

Qantas' chief of engineering, Chris Snook, stated that the airline would not put their customers at risk and would never fly an aircraft that poses a threat to security. The American Federal Aviation Administration had asked for an immediate investigation of the cracks in the 737NG planes that had been in the air more than a total of 30000 times. In response to this, Qantas said that it has discovered the cracks in an aircraft that had recorded less than 27000 flights, which are a more lightly used aircraft than the ones ordered to be inspected. 

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Qantas also said that the damaged plane had been removed from its fleet of active aircraft and had been sent for repairs. They added that the remaining 737NG planes would have their inspection finished by November 1. The airline cleared that the Boeing 737NG planes were used on domestic flight paths, flying mainly between major cities and trips to New Zealand. 

The grounding of the 737NG planes is the latest blow to the aircraft manufacturer, following two Boeing 737MAX crashes in which Lion Air Flight 360 crashed off the coast of Indonesia, claiming the lives of 189 people and Ethiopian Airlines 302 crash claimed the lives of 157 people 7 months later.

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'Functioned without any oversight'

According to reports, Investigators from Indonesia stated that Boeing was functioning without any oversight from the American regulators and failed to understand the risks involved in the design of the cockpit software. Boeing CEO, Dennis Muilenberg, accepted the fact that both the fatal crashes had repetition in the activation of a flight control software function called the MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) after it was installed with a faulty sensor.

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(With inputs from agencies)