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Problems Found With Wing Bolts On Four U.S. Planes

Newer Boeing 737s inspected after China Airlines crash

By Dan Schlossberg
ConsumerAffairs.com

August 30, 2007

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered airlines to inspect their Boeing 737s after the China Airlines flight exploded just after landing in Okinawa Aug. 20. Although all 165 passengers and crew members escaped, Japanese investigators blamed a misplaced bolt for the blaze.

They theorized that a loose bolt dislodged during landing when the slat panels at the front of the wing moved to slow the plane’s speed. The suddenly-dislodged bolt, propelled like a bullet, then punctured a wing-borne fuel tank.

After the Okinawa incident, the FAA ordered all U.S. airlines to inspect their Next Generation 737s (built after 1998) within 24 days. That window was reduced to 10 days after the four loose bolts were found.

Airlines that fly the planes most frequently are AirTran, Alaska, American, ATA, Continental, Delta, and Southwest. Most of the 783 flying in the U.S. are operated by Southwest, which has already finished inspecting the 277 in its fleet.

More than 1,500 Next-Generation 737s have been sold to foreign-flag carriers, according to Boeing. The manufacturer is considering a redesign of the bolt in an effort to keep it from coming off.

According to the FAA, one of the four U.S. airliners that had loose wing bolts already had a damaged fuel tank.

In addition to its order for immediate inspections of Next-Generation 737s, the FAA has also told airlines to re-examine its wing bolts after every 3,000 hours of flight time. That ruling could change after an alternate solution is found.

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