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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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time
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010989
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01098900.036
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1990-09-17
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NATION, Page 29American NotesAVIATIONFear of Flying
Alarms about the airworthiness of aging U.S. airliners, which
erupted after part of the roof of a 19-year-old Aloha Airlines
Boeing 737 peeled off in midflight last April, sounded again last
week. Eastern Flight 251, bound from Rochester to Atlanta, was
forced into a terrifying emergency dive, plunging 21,000 ft. in
just one minute after a sudden rupture tore a 14-in. hole in the
fuselage, depressurizing the cabin. Though the rapid descent caused
some of the passengers excruciating ear pain, no one was seriously
injured, and the 22-year-old Boeing 727 landed safely in
Charleston, W. Va.
A quick inspection of Eastern's fleet of 111 older 727s turned
up some disquieting results. One 24-year-old Eastern jetliner was
grounded in Boston after the airline's mechanics discovered a 3-in.
crack in roughly the same area as the one on Flight 251. And
apparent corrosion near some rivets on its fuselage grounded
another 727 in Miami. The plane involved in last week's incident
had seven other unscheduled landings since 1983, and recent safety
inspections had uncovered two structural cracks.
As part of a special investigation earlier this year, the
Federal Aviation Administration inspected every aircraft in
Eastern's fleet and deemed the airline safe. But Flight 251's
harrowing ride rekindled suspicions that metal fatigue induced by
changes in cabin pressure during thousands of takeoffs and landings
have decreased the margin of safety in commercial aviation.
Although older jetliners have been subject to special inspections
since 1983, the FAA responded to the Aloha accident by ordering
airlines to replace the rivets on 737s built before 1971. Last week
the agency announced that a similar order for aging 727s would be
issued in January.