Dateline: 10/1/98
Today, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will announce a plan to
overhaul all of the nation’s airplanes that are more than 20 years old. The
order will mandate that airlines replace wiring in older aircraft, along with
other components that may malfunction as they age. The following is an
article that was orignally published on May 12 this year. It outlines the
growing concern of aging aircraft in our skies.
In 1997, approximately 46 percent of the U.S. commercial air transport fleet
was over 17 years old, and 28 percent was over 20 years old. Air travel is
expected to grow by 70% over the next ten years. The typical design life for a
commercial jetliner is twenty years, or 60,000 "cycles", that means takeoffs
and landings. Aircraft manufacturers have figured that 12,000 new airliners
will be produced to meet the demand by 2015. Assembly lines for both
Airbus and Boeing are virtually sold out for the next five years due to
mammoth aircraft orders by US Airways, American, and Delta. Even with
all the new aircraft orders airlines are keeping their aircraft flying beyond their
intended life span. The presidential commission predicted within two years,
2,500 U.S. airplanes will be flying beyond their original design life span. The
big challenge to the airline industry is that it must maintain a high standard of
safety with this aging fleet in an economic environment that is intensely
competitive. Maintaining older aircraft can be much cheaper than buying new
ones. For instance, a new Airbus A320 costs approximately 50 million
dollars, whereas, rebuilding an older aircraft can cost between 4 to 9 million
dollars. That's not to say it's unsafe, the major airlines are notoriously
meticulous on aircraft maintenance. However, as things get older they do
wear out. Accidents are usually the catalysts for major changes. A system
of checks and balances is necessary in overseeing the airworthiness of older
planes. It is a cooperative joint venture between the FAA, the plane
manufacturer, and the airlines.
Airline Average Aircraft Age
Alaska 7.6
American 10.0
America West 11.0
Continental 14.4
Delta 12.2
Northwest 19.9
Southwest 8.3
TWA 17.0
United 10.8
US Airways 12.8
Source U.S. DOT
Aging airplanes became a national issue in 1988, when the upper section of
fuselage ripped off a 19-year-old Aloha Airlines 737, causing the death of a
flight attendant who was sucked out of the plane over the Hawaiian Islands.
The cause was metal fatigue. Since that time, the FAA increased the
requirements on inspection and maintenance of many older aircraft following
the Aloha tragedy. The Aviation Research Act of 1988 was set into motion
with the FAA's National Aging Aircraft Research Program to provide a
technological basis for ensuring the continued safe operation of the U.S.
commercial airplane fleet. This, broad-based research and development
program, addresses the aging aircraft structural safety concerns and provides
certification authorities and operators with the tools to meet those concerns.
However, this R&D was mostly devoted to aging-aircraft structure, the
external metal skin and internal framework, not on the systems like fuel tank wiring.
TWA 800 became the catalyst for the latest issue in aging internal aircraft
systems. The plane that crashed was a 25-year-old Boeing 747 that had
logged 90,000 hours of flight in 18,000 cycles of takeoffs and landings. The
FAA acknowledged that the current program, which mandates inspections of
airplane structures as they age, needs to be expanded to look at what
engineers call systems including wiring, fuel pumps and fuel measuring devices.
Currently, aircraft parts are replaced as they wear out or malfunction, but
there is no requirement that they be inspected for damage caused by aging.
After TWA 800, President Clinton created a commission in 1996 to look
into aviation safety. This commission's findings led to the grounding this week
of the 157 Boeing 737's. This action will more than likely set in motion more
regulated procedures involving aging aircraft and their systems. Of course all
this will cost the airlines money.
In the early 1990's, the airlines were in financial turmoil. Many airlines
parked or sold their older aircraft. This created a glut of used aircraft on the
market that were available at affordable prices. Start up airlines began
springing up all over the country; ValuJet, Air Train, Nations Air, and many
more. Start up carriers came under intense scrutiny after the crash of ValuJet
Flight 592, which crashed in the Everglades two years ago this week. The
DC-9 plane was 27 years old, in a ValuJet (now AirTran) fleet that averaged
26.4 years, the oldest in the U.S. airline industry. The focus put the start up
airlines in the hotseat with their low cost operations. Rarely can new start up
airlines afford a new fleet of jets, Midway Airlines, Reno Air, and Western
Pacific are exceptions to the rule they started their operations with relatively
new fleets. However, only one of these airlines, Midway, remains financially
sound. Reno Air, once the darling of startups, has encountered some financial
troubles but appears to be rebounding. Unfortunately, Western Pacific
ceased operations last fall. The problem with many of the startups is it's not
cost effective to have their own heavy maintenance facilities. Therefore, it's
more efficient for them when they outsource their maintenance to other airlines
or companies. Outsourcing maintenance is common practice in the airline
business, however, serious flaws in the FAA’s regulatory system were
uncovered after the ValuJet accident. ValuJet contracted out almost all of its
heavy maintenance to dozens of companies some in the U.S. some outside the
country. This approach to aircraft maintenance was difficult to regulate
because it was difficult to determine exactly what work was being done and
where. ValuJet's fast growth using older aircraft and contracting out its
maintenance ultimately led to its demise.
All this shouldn't get you nervous about flying. Air safety standards in the U.S.
are still the highest in the world. The odds of you being in an airplane accident
are 1 in 8 million. A passenger would have to fly once a day for
26,000
years before encountering the odds of a fatal air crash.
However, you do
have control of what airlines and airplanes you decide to fly on. With
online
reservations sites like Travelocity you can see what type of aircraft is flying on
a specific route. You can check an airline's safety record right here on the
net; the NTSB's site is full of statistics on airlines. Also, the FAA has begun
publishing a list of countries considered to be lax in airline safety standards.
flying on. Don't choose to be on an aircraft you are uncomfortable flying on
because it's the cheapest seat. This only motivates an airline to keep its old
planes flying longer. By being more selective on the type of aircraft you
choose to fly you send a message to the airlines to keep upgrading their fleets.
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