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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Aircraft Safety

WASHINGTON (CN) - Certain EMBRAER planes may roll without notice. The FAA issued various directives to check and fix these, Boeing, McDonnell Douglas and other airplanes.

Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A., or EMBRAER, airplane owners and operators must check and potentially fix their EPIC autopilot software, because programming may ignore a "caution" message, which may cause the plane to suddenly roll, according to a Federal Aviation Administration Airworthiness Directive.

Boeing and McDonnell Douglas airplanes require fixes to increase the chance that fuel tanks do not explode. Certain Boeing 737s must have "hot short protector support brackets and equipment for the fuel quantity indicating system fuel densitometer" installed. Certain McDonnell Douglas DC-10s, MD-10s and MD-11s must have fuel boost pumps modified. The FAA also plans to add certain DC-9s and the MD-88 and MD-90-30 to the list of planes needing fuel boost pump modification, according to a proposed directive.

Boeing planes also may have dangerous fuselage cracks, and need to have a leveling device checked. Boeing 747s may open up at "section 41" and let the pressurized air out of the cabin. Hence, all 747s must have certain areas of the outside of the airplane checked. Certain Boeing 737s also may open up, and "lap joints" are to be scrutinized more carefully than was proposed earlier, according to a newly proposed directive. Additionally, Boeing 777s must have the mechanism keeping the plane horizontal checked, according to a newly proposed directive.

Click the document icon on the front page for details and other new regulations.

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