All articles tagged with #grounded planes
The FAA has ordered all MD-11 aircraft, used by UPS and FedEx, to be grounded following a crash, which could impact holiday deliveries depending on how long the grounding lasts. Both companies have contingency plans, but delays are possible if the grounding extends beyond a week or two.
The FAA is conducting an audit of Boeing's 737 Max 9 production and suppliers, focusing on quality control and safety risks. The audit comes after an in-flight incident on an Alaska Airlines flight and the grounding of 171 planes in the US. Boeing's CEO acknowledged a mistake and emphasized transparency, while the NTSB chairwoman recommended not returning the planes to service until the cause of the incident is known. Boeing has faced ongoing quality and safety issues with its aircraft, including the 737 Max's design being linked to fatal crashes, and other grounding and delivery halts due to quality concerns.
RTX Corp, the parent company of Pratt & Whitney, announced a $3 billion charge and warned airlines that hundreds of their Airbus jets would be grounded at any one time in the coming years due to a rare manufacturing flaw in the Geared Turbofan series. The company estimates that between 2023 and 2026, a total of 600 to 700 engines will need to be pulled off Airbus A320neo jets for lengthy quality inspections, resulting in an average of 350 planes being grounded per year. The repair work, initially expected to take 60 days, is now projected to last up to 300 days per engine. RTX shares fell 7.9% following the announcement.
RTX Corp.'s Pratt & Whitney unit has expanded the scope of required engine checks, affecting nearly its entire fleet of turbines powering Airbus A320 planes. Around 3,000 Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engines will be removed over the next three years to check for potentially flawed components made from contaminated metal powder. This will result in about 350 aircraft being parked per year through 2026 on average, with the figure peaking at about 650 planes in the first half of 2024. The engine troubles add to the challenges faced by airlines as they work to rebuild operations post-pandemic. RTX also cut its full-year sales outlook and expects a financial hit of up to $3.5 billion over the next several years.