FAA Ignores Safety Warnings on Boeing 777

(CBS)  More than 130 Boeing jetliners whose engines face the risk of icing up in rare conditions can continue flying long transcontinental flights until early 2011, the Federal Aviation Administration announced last week in a move that rejected the warnings of safety experts and pilots.

Two suspect parts in the Rolls-Royce engine used by the Boeing 777 airliners will be replaced in 2011. Federal regulators said the interim safety measures for the planes were sufficient to prevent mishaps, such as midair engine shutdowns or emergency descents, according to a Wall Street Journal report ($) Monday.

The National Transportation Safety Board had previously urged the FAA to speed up the parts replacement in at least one of the planes' two engines. The Air Line Pilots Association separately advised quicker action.

Limited availability of parts is one reason for the later deadline, industry sources told the Journal.

According to the report, ice-induced shutdowns are rare - only three reported incidents over millions of flights. One such instance occurred when a British Airways flight at London's Heathrow Airport in January 2008, injuring 13 people.

The interim safety measures are all operational, meaning pilots must take certain precautions to prevent ice-buildup, which can occur during long cruise periods at high altitudes over polar regions.

Boeing and Rolls-Royce have said they are further studying the icing problem. American Airlines, which uses the Boeing 777 said it will try to complete the replacements as soon as possible.

[umtutsut]

The Wall Street Journal piece had one big error and one huge omission. The number of affected 777s is 69, not more than 130. More important, the Journal failed to even mention that the FAA deadline of January 1, 2011 is EXACTLY THE SAME as that of the European Aviation Safety Agency, which is responsible for the safety of Rolls Royce engines in the first place.

[BGaumond]

Given that the Boeing 777 has a great safety record id say I'm not extremely worried about this.

[jgjbcmi]

And people wonder why I hate to fly....

[ToolMangler1]

I don't because you don't know any better.. ;)

[midlclass]

funny how if the FAA issued a warning, you can bet the ntsb and pilots association would have to conform. Sombody is watching sombodys A$$$$$. here. reguardless of the 3 in a million chance of this happening 13 people were already injured does the FAA need sombodys to die first before action is taken? parts should be made available in a ASAP and installed.To much powere at the upper levels of the aviation industry to dictate to people instead of being dictated to. select another airline or question the type of A/C your fling in and if it's a 777 ask for another flight with a different type of A/C.

[Sloughfoot]

Who should be held accountable when one of these big birds does a yard dart impression? The FAA - the fed is immune from most civil damages - besides it is not their money, it is yours. Or at least those of you who work for a living. Boeing - They are probably the ones who greased the palms of the FAA super cheif who had the last say on allowing these potential disasters to continue to fly - and will defer the blame to Rolls-Royce. Perhaps Rolls-Royce should be the ones the world should hold accountable - they built the engines and seem to be in no hurry to resolve a potentially catastrophic problem.

Not until we adopt the Chinese system of holding top dog CEOs and Government Officials criminally responsible for the deeds or misdeeds of their respective operations will we see any improvement in our Big Business or Big Government.

[skyowner]

"Limited availability of parts is one reason for the later deadline, industry sources told the Journal."

Rolls-Royce seems to be unable to produce the parts quick enough. This article does not give enough information to say why they can't produce them quicker. So you shouldn't judge anyone on the basis of this article. But you could probably look for issues somewhere in Rolls-Royce or upstream in their supply chain.