Uncompleted FAA safety checks have led to United’s 757 jet fleet to ground itself.
The Federal Aviation Administration on June 22, 2004, ordered that the computers be replaced and that mechanics perform a check to ensure they were working properly. 2004. Did I read that correctly?
The 757’s air data computer measures air pressure and other atmospheric conditions to determine speed and altitude. The units on these planes have been replaced but they haven’t undergone the required safety check. A flaw in the OLD computer caused pilots to believe they were flying too fast or too slow.
United discovered the situation and informed the FAA that they were grounding their own fleet and performing the safety check after making the discovery on their own.
Where was the FAA in this? Don’t they follow up their own directives to assure compliance? Did a follow-up team get hatched by a budget cut? Or is it just that the FAA is getting complacent or not taking its performance seriously?
SunExpress flight XQ-171 had to return and make an emergency landing in Hamburg, Germany, on December 23rd.
Lufthansa flight LH-501 had to return and make an emergency landing at Galeao International Airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on February 20th.