Airlines operating Boeing 737’s engines in Nigeria will face emergency engine inspections as directed by the Federal Aviation Administration, (FAA).
Airlines that will be affected by this development are Air Peace and Arik Air, as they operate aircraft with indicated engine types.
FAA had recently ordered airlines to inspect the fan blades of some engines of the same type that exploded on a Southwest Airlines flight earlier this week.
One passenger was killed after she was partially sucked through a window that was blown open in the blast when a fan blade on one of the Boeing 737’s engines broke loose as the plane was flying above 30,000 feet. The plane, which was headed from New York to Dallas, made an emergency landing in Philadelphia.
It was the first accident-related passenger death on a U.S. airline since 2009 and the first passenger fatality due to an accident or incident in Southwest’s history.
The FAA said the “emergency” order was based on a service bulletin, also issued Friday from the engine’s manufacturer, CFM International, that called for more stringent testing of the CFM56-7B engine and an investigation into the deadly engine failure on Southwest Flight 1380, the airline regulator said.
Chris Iwarah, Air Peace Corporate Communications Manager had reacted to this development saying “The FAA directive to airlines who operate aircraft with the same engine with the U. S. carrier to perform ultrasonic inspection on the engines installed on NG B737-700 does not extend to engines installed on the classic aircraft, which we have in our fleet.
“Besides, our aircraft are maintained in accordance with the approved maintenance programme and manufacturer maintenance document.”
IFEOMA OKEKE
