Post by corsair67 on Dec 31, 2005 12:02:17 GMT 12
An article from today's The Australian about windscreen cracking affecting the 737-700/800 aircraft that Virgin Blue operate.
Interesting to note that QANTAS states it hasn't had any problems with their B737-800 aircraft, but I wonder if this is actually true or not.
Virgin alert to windscreen cracks
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
December 31, 2005.
VIRGIN Blue has increased inspections of its aircraft windscreens after at least three cracked this month in what US manufacturer Boeing acknowledges may be a global problem with one of the world's most popular jets.
The problem is understood to affect Next Generation 737s, a new version of the 737 that came into service in late 1997. More than 1500 Next Generation 737s fly worldwide for airlines including Virgin and Qantas.
The issue may also be related to a December 2 incident in which eight passengers flying from Townsville to Brisbane needed hospital treatment after suffering nosebleeds, nausea and earaches when a Virgin jet was forced into an emergency descent. The 737 descended from 34,000ft to 10,000ft after discovering a crack on the windscreen's outer surface.
Other incidents include a cracked windscreen that forced a Virgin plane to be taken out of service on Christmas Eve, contributing to lengthy delays around the nation caused by strong winds in Sydney and a power failure in Melbourne.
Air safety experts investigating the December 2 emergency descent are working to establish whether there is a common problem with the 737s' windscreens.
Virgin would not confirm the number of damaged windscreens but said it was higher than normal. It emphasised that the damage did not pose a risk to passengers and said it was working with Boeing on dealing with the issue.
"Virgin Blue has received advice from Boeing regarding greater than normal occurrences of cockpit damage being received by Boeing Next Generation operators around the world, relating to delamination in particular," Virgin spokeswoman Amanda Bolger said.
"We will, of course, accept any advice from Boeing. However, Virgin already undertakes inspections over and above those recommended by Boeing."
Boeing spokesman Ken Morton said the issue was not confined to Virgin Blue but stressed that it was not a safety issue.
"Yes, this is a well-known problem which we are addressing," Mr Morton said.
Qantas spokeswoman Belinda de Rome said the airline was not aware of any particular problem with the windscreens on its 737s.
"But we inspect windscreens and replace them where there is any defect as a normal part of our maintenance procedures," Ms deRome said.
Aircraft windscreens are made up of multiple layers of vinyl and glass and are designed so that they will not fail if one layer cracks during flight.
But an increase in the number of cracks pushes up maintenance costs, takes planes out of service and can disrupt timetables.
Ms Bolger said Virgin introduced extra inspections when it became aware of the problem during maintenance. She said the airline did inspections well before they were due and added that the carrier's pilots were being extra diligent when carrying out pre-flight inspections.
"Whilst delamination and cracks do not compromise the safety of aircraft, we manage our operations in an overly cautious way," Ms Bolger said.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority said it was aware of the problem and was waiting for a response from Boeing.
Interesting to note that QANTAS states it hasn't had any problems with their B737-800 aircraft, but I wonder if this is actually true or not.
Virgin alert to windscreen cracks
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
December 31, 2005.
VIRGIN Blue has increased inspections of its aircraft windscreens after at least three cracked this month in what US manufacturer Boeing acknowledges may be a global problem with one of the world's most popular jets.
The problem is understood to affect Next Generation 737s, a new version of the 737 that came into service in late 1997. More than 1500 Next Generation 737s fly worldwide for airlines including Virgin and Qantas.
The issue may also be related to a December 2 incident in which eight passengers flying from Townsville to Brisbane needed hospital treatment after suffering nosebleeds, nausea and earaches when a Virgin jet was forced into an emergency descent. The 737 descended from 34,000ft to 10,000ft after discovering a crack on the windscreen's outer surface.
Other incidents include a cracked windscreen that forced a Virgin plane to be taken out of service on Christmas Eve, contributing to lengthy delays around the nation caused by strong winds in Sydney and a power failure in Melbourne.
Air safety experts investigating the December 2 emergency descent are working to establish whether there is a common problem with the 737s' windscreens.
Virgin would not confirm the number of damaged windscreens but said it was higher than normal. It emphasised that the damage did not pose a risk to passengers and said it was working with Boeing on dealing with the issue.
"Virgin Blue has received advice from Boeing regarding greater than normal occurrences of cockpit damage being received by Boeing Next Generation operators around the world, relating to delamination in particular," Virgin spokeswoman Amanda Bolger said.
"We will, of course, accept any advice from Boeing. However, Virgin already undertakes inspections over and above those recommended by Boeing."
Boeing spokesman Ken Morton said the issue was not confined to Virgin Blue but stressed that it was not a safety issue.
"Yes, this is a well-known problem which we are addressing," Mr Morton said.
Qantas spokeswoman Belinda de Rome said the airline was not aware of any particular problem with the windscreens on its 737s.
"But we inspect windscreens and replace them where there is any defect as a normal part of our maintenance procedures," Ms deRome said.
Aircraft windscreens are made up of multiple layers of vinyl and glass and are designed so that they will not fail if one layer cracks during flight.
But an increase in the number of cracks pushes up maintenance costs, takes planes out of service and can disrupt timetables.
Ms Bolger said Virgin introduced extra inspections when it became aware of the problem during maintenance. She said the airline did inspections well before they were due and added that the carrier's pilots were being extra diligent when carrying out pre-flight inspections.
"Whilst delamination and cracks do not compromise the safety of aircraft, we manage our operations in an overly cautious way," Ms Bolger said.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority said it was aware of the problem and was waiting for a response from Boeing.
