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Time - Man of the Year
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Time_Man_of_the_Year_Compact_Publishing_3YX-Disc-1_Compact_Publishing_1993.iso
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1993-04-08
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EUROPE, Page 52Are 747s Safe to Fly?
Boeing's famous jumbo jet, the 747, has been
the king of the skies since it went into commercial service in
1970. More than 900 of its four models still form the vanguard
of long-range airline fleets around the world. The 747 has
enjoyed an outstanding safety record: only 11 have crashed in
22 years.
In the past 10 months, however, two 747 cargo planes,
model 200, have gone down in alarmingly similar circumstances.
A China Airlines plane lost both its starboard engines shortly
after takeoff from Taipei last December. Over Amsterdam last
week, the engines on the El Al cargo flight's right wing also
dropped off.
Though investigators do not know for certain what caused
either of these crashes, they suspect that the steel pins that
attach the engines to the wing may have failed. Even before the
China Airlines accident, Boeing was concerned about wear and
tear on the so-called fuse pins, 4-in.-long cylinders of
machined steel designed to hold each engine securely under the
wing. Each enhas four pins. Up to a year ago, airlines had found
deterioration in seven pins. Since then, eight more weakened
pins have been discovered. The problem seems to begin with
pitting and corrosion that, as it worsens, weakens the metal pin
and causes cracks.
None of those 15 damaged pins have caused an accident, but
their discovery prompted Boeing to call a meeting to discuss
fuse-pin inspection with airlines using 747s and the Federal
Aviation Administration. Boeing told officials of large and
small airlines about the problem at a meeting of the Air
Transport Association of America in Seattle last month. "We gave
the operators some history of the problem and how the
inspections should be made," says Boeing spokesman Christopher
Villiers.
After last week's crash, Boeing issued a service bulletin
on 747 models 100, 200 and 300 carrying Pratt & Whitney or
Rolls-Royce engines, both of which use the fuse-pin assembly
being investigated. The company said it had not located any of
the pins from either crash but had still "decided it was prudent
to request an inspection." The FAA followed up with a mandatory
directive to airlines worldwide requiring them to inspect the
pins. The order does not cover the newest 747, model 400, which
uses a different engine-attachment system.
Despite the logical suspicion that fuse pins may have
failed in the two recent crashes, no one is calling the mainstay
of international air transportation, the 747, unsafe. The plane
has flown billions of problem-free passenger-miles. Indeed, when
the U.S. Air Force and White House security officers
painstakingly checked airplane safety records before selecting
the new presidential carrier, Air Force One, they settled on the
747-200.
By Bruce W. Nelan. Reported by Jerry Hannifin/Washington
and Edwin M. Reingold/Los Angeles