Additional problems found in MD 80-90 series jets but FAA official calls incidents routine

Filed: 02/24/2000

The Bakersfield Californian

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Pilots reported problems on 13 jetliners of the types ordered inspected after last month's crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261, forcing three unscheduled landings this week alone.

Authorities, however, said there's nothing extraordinary about the number of reported problems: What's unusual is the public attention they are receiving since the Jan. 31 crash that killed 88 people.

The types of problems reported by pilots flying MD-80s, MD-90s and DC-9s are routine, officials said Thursday.

"You're just not noticing it for the other airplanes because everyone's focused on this one," said Paul Turk, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Three pilots reported problems with their horizontal stabilizers, the wing-like tail assembly that control a plane's vertical pitch and is the focus of the crash investigation.

On Wednesday, crew members on an Ontario-bound Delta Air Lines flight returned to Dallas after reporting apparent mechanical problems with the horizontal stabilizer.

After the crash of the Boeing MD-83, the FAA ordered stabilizer inspections on more than 1,100 MD-80 and related series planes as well as MD-90s, DC-9s and Boeing 717s. Problems were found with 22 planes. The jackscrew, a bolt that drives the up-and-down motion of the wing-like stabilizer, was replaced in 18 airplanes.

Additional problems reported for MD-80s, MD-90s and DC-9s since the crash range from smoke in the cockpit to losing engine power.

Reporting and checking such incidents is a daily occurrence for the nation's airline industry, Turk said.

"It's a very routine part of doing business, and the numbers you're showing for the MD-80 are pretty normal," he said.

http://www.bakersfield.com/cal/i--1260698258.asp

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), February 25, 2000

Answers

One thing we know *for sure*....you CANNOT TRUST the FAA. Period.

Does anyone have access to data?

-- Bud Hamilton (budham@hotmail.com), February 25, 2000.