... heightens the need for 737 fuselage inspections. Former NTSB board member John Goglia says it’s all part of a bigger issue related to fatigue with airliners.
Goglia is a long-time contributor to Cygnus Aviation publications, including a regular blog at www.groundsupportworldwide.com. In The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday Goglia was quoted as saying, “The existing inspection procedures just weren’t adequate to uncover what they eventually found under the surface.â€
I caught up with John earlier today as he was walking down a boarding bridge to hop on a carrier for another media interview on the subject. He’s in demand. “I did about 15 press, TV, and radio interviews yesterday; I’m on my way to do one right now. It’s a hot issue,†he relates.
“For a long time FAA has been calling for reviews of the data and incidents,†he adds. “We’ve had repeated problems with fatigue issues with airplanes – not just the 737. It’s time to call for a national summit as we did after the Aloha incident. Everybody came together to come up with a process to deal with it. We need to revisit it again, looking at modern processes.†The Aloha reference concerns Aloha Airlines Flight 243 which saw much of the upper fuselage stripped off in an April, 1988 incident in which a flight attendant perished but which ultimately landed safely.
I asked a friend who is an avid Southwest customer yet a white-knuckle flyer nonetheless if she’d be hesitant to get on one of the carrier’s 737s in light of recent events. “I’d get on the plane tomorrow†was her response. Goglia agrees.
“I just got off one,†he comments. “It’s fine. The risk is no greater than any other aircraft. But we have some unknowns related to fatigue and the fuselage. We just need to go back and revisit it with industry working groups and all key parties involved.â€
On Tuesday, Boeing called for increased fuselage inspections on some 570 of the older 737s in use – those delivered between 1993 and 2000 – and cutting in half cycle inspections to 30,000 operations. Meanwhile, Southwest reports it completed its inspections of 79 airliners and found a total of five 737s with cracks. The carrier is back to flying its full schedule after cancelling hundreds of flights since Saturday.
Goglia’s call for an industrywide summit not only seems reasonable but perhaps mandatory. It can only help to make an incredibly safe industry even safer.
Thanks for reading. jfi