The US Federal Aviation Administration is preparing a new set of rules for airlines calling for mandatory inspections of suspect parts on up to 1,600 Boeing and Embraer jets.
Two new FAA safety directives are expected to be formally published Monday which will mandate airlines to inspect and if necessary replace two separate parts ‘which can lead to loss of continued safe flight.’
One directive relates to horizontal stabilizers in the tail section of some Boeing 737 models which could be subject to corrosion.
It covers up to 1,400 Boeing 737 jets.
Additionally, a total of 197 twin-engine Embraer 170 and 190 regional jets have potentially defective valves which are prone to cracking, the FAA says.
The defects could ‘result in dual engine in-flight shutdown,’ the agency said.
Both plane manufacturers have raised these issues and now the FAA wants to make the existing voluntary fixes mandatory for all US airlines.
