Two pending directives could impact United Airlines and their Hawaii flights, which are an important fleet to the islands. The two airworthiness directives are being proposed by the FAA, including a second one on the same fleet just added this week.
Thursday, the FAA said, “The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain The Boeing Company Model 757 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by reports of operators finding frequent and severe damage to the blowout vent grills of the aft soft bulkhead lining in the aft lower lobe cargo compartment.”
This proposed rule could result in an FAA directive requiring detailed inspections and repairs when damage is found.
While United plans to phase out these planes that are now up to 30 years in age, they have not done so yet. The aircraft can be found on a variety of Hawaii routes. BOH editors recently flew United’s 757 from Kauai to Denver.
The FAA said, “Boeing investigated the reported damage and found the blowout vent grills are vulnerable to being damaged during baggage loading and unloading…This condition, if not addressed, could result in the inability of the flight crew to maintain safe flight and landing.”
Another proposed directive addresses cracks in 757 airplane sides.
This proposed AD was prompted by cracks on both sides of the airplane,” said the FAA this summer. The FAA plans to mandate inspection or maintenance records checks. “The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe conditions of these products. This condition, if not addressed, could result in the inability of a structural element to sustain limit load and reduced structural integrity of the airplane.”
Does the age of a jetliner impact whether you want to fly on it to Hawaii?
You can be up to three hours from the nearest diversion point when flying between North America and Hawaii. And that gives us pause to think this over.
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