Probe into hole in plane turns to assembly process

[marmar]

Probe into hole in plane turns to assembly process

(AP) – 27 minutes ago


Investigators trying to determine why the roof of a Southwest Airlines jet peeled open in flight this month are focusing on the manufacturing process at Boeing.

Government and industry officials say investigators noticed that the stricken jet and five other Southwest planes that had cracks in their metal skins were all built at about the same time in the same Boeing plant.

The officials cautioned Monday that no final determination has been made about why the planes developed cracks in an area of the fuselage many years before Boeing expected to see problems.

A 5-foot hole tore open in the roof of the Southwest Boeing 737 as Flight 812 climbed to 34,000 feet above Arizona on April 1. The pilot guided the plane to a safe emergency landing, and there were no serious injuries. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gRBfgFBYhNCce3fSrhjZPP1Ji0ow?docId=ab165f4fa9b44400a6dccaced0fc5746

[MineralMan]

1. Air pressure wrong in a riveter? Rivets out of spec?

Too loose or too tight rivets could set up stress that might cause cracking around rivets. I dunno. I do know that I have about half a dozen rivets in my old 1964-vintage aluminum boat that have hairline cracks radiating from them. No big deal on a 12' aluminum boat, but on a plane...? A little Gluvit took care of the boat, but I don't think that stuff is approved for 737s.

[tridim]

2. Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the albert hall.