According to FAA, air check valves on the narrow-body aircraft could become corroded and stuck open after seven days or more in storage. A stuck valve could result in power loss in both engines, “without the ability to restart,” the federal regulator warned.
The warning does not apply to Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft, which have been grounded worldwide since last March. Instead, it affects 737 models ranging from 1984 737-400 to 2006 737-900ER. Some 2,000 of these jets have been in storage in the US since the COVID-19 pandemic led to their grounding.
Inspecting the valves is a simple matter of having an engineer jiggle a flap by hand and examining the surrounding area for cracks or fissures. Replacement is also a relatively simple procedure.
However, the corrosion alert is just another entry on a growing list of negative stories for Boeing.
Less than three weeks ago, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) launched an investigation into cracks on the Boeing Dreamliner’s Rolls-Royce engines.
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