United Airlines grounds 777s for inspections
CHICAGO (AP) - April 2, 2008 The inspections are the latest to affect the U.S. airline
industry and its passengers, roiled by a series of similar moves in
recent weeks as carriers review their maintenance records in an
atmosphere of increased regulatory scrutiny.
The Chicago-based airline said testing would be done on 52 777s
over a period of 36 hours. Spokeswoman Jean Medina said 14 planes
had been inspected and cleared to fly by late morning.
The carrier has about 460 aircraft.
Delays were reported in Japan and Hawaii Wednesday morning and
the airline warned passengers to be prepared for other delays and
cancellations as it proceeded with the inspections. Medina said 31
of 84 scheduled 777 flights had been cancelled.
United, a subsidiary of UAL Corp., said a review of maintenance
records showed a test on one of five bottles in the fire
suppression system hadn't been performed. The airline alerted
authorities.
The planes, which have a so-called "intuitive" self-diagnostic
system that would have detected any malfunction with the fire
suppression system, mostly fly international routes and from the
carrier's major hubs.
United carried out unscheduled maintenance on seven of its
Boeing 747 jets last month but found no safety-related issues.
The Federal Aviation Administration has been checking
maintenance records at all domestic airlines after revelations
surfaced about missed safety inspections at Southwest Airlines Co.
UAL shares fell 54 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $22.59 in midday
trading Wednesday.
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On the Net:
www.united.com
