NTSB: Loose rivets found in plane with hole

[Viva_La_Revolution]

Source: AP

Investigators trying to determine why the roof of a Southwest Airlines jet cracked open in flight have issued preliminary findings suggesting there may have been flaws in the riveting work when Boeing built the plane 15 years ago.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Monday that some of the rivets used to bind the Boeing 737's aluminum panels together were sunk in holes larger than the rivet shafts. The holes weren't lined up correctly and were misshapen, not round, the board said.

It didn't offer any conclusions and said the investigation is continuing.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BOEING_SOUTHWEST_PLANES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[luv_mykatz]

1. Same thing as sunk the Titanic, maybe?

This will be interesting to follow.

[TheMadMonk]

2. That was an unanticipated interaction of cold water and a high sulphur...

...content in the steel.

This, on the other hand looks like badly specced parts being altered to force them to fit.

In fact it looks very much like miss drilled panels were clamped to the stringers and a drill used to ream out the holes from behind.

The correct procedure (which would be permitted only within very limited tollerances) would be to open up both holes and use a larger diameter rivet.

The next question is, was this a bad repair or a major quality control problem in manufacturing?

[JohnyCanuck]

5. Could it be related to this problem, brought to light by Boeing whistleblowers?

Could it be related to this problem, brought to light by Boeing whistleblowers and Al Jazeera but totally ignored by the rest of the mainstream media?

Gigi Prewitt was Boeing through and through. Her family had worked for Boeing in Wichita for three generations and she was excited when she was asked to look after buying key parts for the 737NG. But within a short space of time, she noticed something was wrong.

"The minute that I took the desk of buying 737NG parts I had shop personnel coming to me talking to me about the problems and the issues they were having with the parts not being manufactured accurately. Shy-edge margins and were, out of contour, parts not fitting correctly ..." Prewitt says.

Lawyer Bill Skepnek has become intimately acquainted with almost every nook and cranny of the 737NG

The parts in question were some of the most crucial elements of an aircraft fuselage - parts known as "chords" and "bear-straps".

An aircraft fuselage is like a giant tube. That tube is made up of interlocking semi-circular pieces of metal - these are the "chords" and put together they form the 'frame' around which every other part of the airframe is built ... and on which the external 'skin' is assembled.

http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/peopleandpower/2010/12/20101214104637901849.html

[Blue_Tires]

7. There was some discussion on the shady company the repairs were outsourced to

I think it's in Costa Rica?

As long as the B-737 series has been around, I can't imagine there being any quality control issues in assembly...

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

3. I find it somewhat unlikely the plane ran into an iceberg. -nt

[KewlKat]

4. You mean the plane hit an iceberg? nt

[OnionPatch]

6. And people wonder why I don't like to fly.

They'll ask me....is it because of 9-11? And my answer is a great big "NO!"..... it's because of greedy airline corporations that are too cheap to maintain their planes properly. I know driving a car is much more dangerous, but at least I know I maintain my automobile properly.