2nd time Jetblue has had this problem

[SWAdude]

One word for you and the 737...


"Flipper"....

One word for you...

"Karma"....

 

[Dizel8]

Never mind

 

[Juvat]

Gee, I wonder if the Republicans in the White House had anything to do with it? Gee I wonder if the geo-equitorial alignment of Saturn had anything to do with it? Maybe, just maybe...could it be....SATAN?

dork.

 

[fifty30retard]

Neither aircraft has a fuel dump but one of them has a known nose wheel problem. I am not saying one is better then the other what I am saying is if all things are equal buy American.

And the 737 has a known rudder problem. Now the 737 has a supposed fix. When I flew it they had installed digital rudder pressure reducers that reduced maximum rudder authority at approximately 800 ft agl. It's been a few years since I was on the 73 so maybe someone has more info. Now the 737 has had at least three rudder hardover incidents of which two turned into fatal accidents. The Airbus has had 4 or 5 of these nosewheel incidents with no fatalities. Which is a worse problem to have?

Do I like Boeing better than Airbus? No but the 320 is better than 737, as much as I hate saying that.
I hope Boeing kicks Airbus's sorry French a$$ but for now I''ll keep flying the bus.

 

[Texasskicker]

Could it be

Gee, I wonder if the Republicans in the White House had anything to do with it? Gee I wonder if the geo-equitorial alignment of Saturn had anything to do with it? Maybe, just maybe...could it be....SATAN?

Could it be...SOROS?

 

[learflyer]

What is on the airbus nose wheel to control the tiller and the steering? Is there a pin or something?

 

[G4G5]

What inferior South American facility is JetBlue outsourcing heavy MX to? Is TACA inferior? What data can you share to back this up claim?

My understanding is that TACA has an excellent reputation for heavy MX -- this reputation is internationally recognized industry-wide.

Or, do you simply assume TACA MX is inferior because it is a Latin American company?

Lets start with the Inspector General's report:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/results/tools/ah_award_nominee_transportation.html

The team disclosed weaknesses in repair procedures and practices at 18 of the 21 repair stations visited that indicated FAA must take steps to enhance its oversight of these facilities. The team determined that these weaknesses in repair station oversight occurred because FAA inspectors did not place adequate emphasis on these facilities as part of their surveillance. The team determined that FAA had no mechanism in place to obtain information on how much work is sent to repair stations domestically or overseas so that FAA could adjust its surveillance resources as needed

Read the report or do a google search the GAO came up with the same findings in 1998.
FYI their are approx 300 certified foreign repair stations, the inspector could only get to 21 of them of which 85% had a failing grade. FYI the FAA has NO oversite in South or Latin America, the nearest office is Miami (they do have offices all over Asia and Europe)

http://www.aviationtoday.com/cgi/am/show_mag.cgi?pub=am&mon=0304&file=0304washington.htm

The problem with many foreign repair stations that are certificated by the FAA and accordingly perform maintenance on U.S.-registered aircraft is that they are not monitored at all, said the OIG (Inspector General). The report stated that some "foreign repair stations are not inspected by FAA inspectors at all because other civil aviation authorities review these facilities in FAA's behalf." Yet the OIG said that when it reviewed 16 of these foreign repair stations, in 14 of them their files did not contain enough information about what had been inspected and if any problems had been discovered. The FAA has to do a better job of reviewing these foreign repair stations, the OIG said. This report lends substance and statistical data to an old complaint by American repair stations that foreign FAA-certificated repair stations are able to use cost-cutting procedures that would not be approved in the U.S. because they are not closely monitored

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/08/AR2005060802324.html

Maybe you can come up with an Inspector General's report, or a GAO report, or an article by the Washington Post that supports your claim "My understanding is that TACA has an excellent reputation for heavy MX -- this reputation is internationally recognized industry-wide." Didn't think so.

The IG also discovered that most Latin/South American repair stations don't keep employee records on computer, they are on paper. When asked in many cases they could not verify that their employees met the FAA required experience.

Do you understand the concept of a CRS vs an A&P license? Certified Repair Stations don't require their mechanics to have A&P's. This was developed by the FAA because mechanics departing the armed forces don't get A&P's. The logic was; why should he, if he is fixing a 707 for uncle sam he is more then capable to fix a 707 for UAL or AA. So, he could be hired directly from the service and start on the line, not having to deal with the lengthy A&P testing process. Foreign CRS's take this one step further, the only person required to have an FAA license is the IA who signs off on the work. Weather the mechanic has the proper credentials is by the IG's report, up to the foreign facility. The FAA doesn't have enough inspectors to check everyone of Taca's mechanics but you can bet that each one of AA Tulsa tech or DAL's ATL guys have been checked.

http://www.amtonline.com/publication/article.jsp?pubId=1&id=1713

Take a close look at the chart on the bottom of the article. Stop drinking the kool aid and do the research for yourself.

Now not to have you think that I am picking on Jetblue. How else do you think that it is possible for NWA to get rid of 1/2 it's mechanics over night? Foreign CRS's.

More high tech US jobs going abroad.

 

[thruthemurk]

Fact: Take a close look at the chart on the bottom of the article, no one outsource's more maintenance JetBlue

Now not to have you think that I am picking on Jetblue. UAL is #2 on the list. How else do you think that it is possible for NWA to get rid of 1/2 it's mechanics over night? Foreign CRS's.

More high tech US jobs going abroad.

Thanks for posting a good article, and I agree with you about the problem of Mechanics jobs going overseas.

The list with your link is in order of increase in outsourcing - of which JetBLue is number one and UAL number two.

Listed in order of actual percent of maintenance outsourced the number one honors went to Alaska Airlines, followed by:

Alaska
America West
Continental
Southwest
Jetblue
US Airways
United
Northwest
Airtran
ATA
American
Delta
Frontier
Spirit

Murk

 

[G4G5]

Percent of Outsourcing for 14 Air Carriers in 2002, 2003, and the First Three Quarters of 2004*

Air Carrier Percent of Maintenance Expense Outsourced
2002 2003 2004** Change (2002 to 2004)
Jet Blue 39% 51% 63% 24%
United 33% 41% 54% 21%
ATA 22% 20% 43% 21%
Air Tran 31% 46% 46% 15%
Frontier 20% 27% 33% 13%
US Airways 50% 58% 60% 10%
Northwest 44% 56% 51% 7%
American 38% 38% 42% 4%
Alaska 79% 75% 80% 1%
Continental 65% 65% 65% 0%
Southwest 65% 65% 64% (1%)
Delta 38% 37% 35% (3%)
America West 77% 75% 72% (5%)
Spirit NA 34%*** 30% Unknown


source Aviation Maint Tech magazine, link provided above

Thanks

 

[BLUE BAYOU]

Apparently this has happened twice to Jetblue once to UAL and once to AWA. How many times has it happened on a 737?

I don't know but there seems to be more 737 falling out of the skies these days...

 

[da90drivr]

G4G5, Is the all of the heavy maint on your Gulfstream done in house? Do you fly your own mechanic to the aircraft when you break down on the road?


I also see you are typed in the da-50/900 and 2000, were you not able to convince your company to buy American?

I am all for buying American when it makes finacial sense for myself or the company. I will not do it just to appear patriotic.

 

[Hobiehawker]

I don't know but there seems to be more 737 falling out of the skies these days...

These kind of comments are just pathetic.

 

[SWAdude]

I don't know but there seems to be more 737 falling out of the skies these days...

Yes...very pathetic..

 

[G4G5]

G4G5, Is the all of the heavy maint on your Gulfstream done in house? Do you fly your own mechanic to the aircraft when you break down on the road?

Nope you are looking at him, most of the guys who fly our aircraft have A&P's

I also see you are typed in the da-50/900 and 2000, were you not able to convince your company to buy American?

The Falcon was purchased by a former employer (top 5 Fortune company) in a effort secure French contracts for their products. It worked and countless jobs were created.
Read my previous posts, I am not saying one is better then the other. What I am simply saying is, if all things are equal........... At the time I flew the Falcon (great aircraft). NO American mfr was producing anything equal. To my knowledge their is no American made corporate jet that is equal to a Falcon 2000 or a Falcon 50

I am all for buying American when it makes finacial sense for myself or the company. I will not do it just to appear patriotic.

And I agree with you that's why its hard to put up a pro A320 argument when SWA and Ryan Air are the two most profitable LCC and they do it with a 737.

 

[SWAdude]

7 Airbus Jets Had Landing Gear Trouble
By Jennifer Oldham and Megan Garvey, Times Staff Writers

The problems with JetBlue Flight 292 marked at least the seventh time that the front landing gear of an Airbus jet has locked at a 90-degree angle, forcing pilots to land commercial airliners under emergency conditions, according to federal records.

No one has been injured in the incidents, which span about a decade. There are more than 2,500 planes from the Airbus 320 family, which includes the Airbus 318, 319 and 321 models, in operation worldwide. Aviation safety officials Thursday said the planes have a good safety record.

In the most recent case, JetBlue's flight from Burbank to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, carrying 140 passengers, was forced Wednesday to make an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport. The plight of the aircraft was televised nationwide, beginning with the plane circling over the California coast and ending at an LAX runway with a landing marked by fire streaming from the plane's front wheels.

Howard Plagens, a senior air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating Wednesday's incident, called problems with landing gear "common."

At a news conference Thursday at the Proud Bird Restaurant outside LAX, he said he believed that passengers had no reason for concern about the safety of the Airbus fleet.

"How many Airbus A320s are out there?" he said, adding that the number of times the wheels have locked is small.

"Incidents happen every day" involving landing gear on all types of planes, he said.

The locking of the nose landing gear on Airbus jets is one of several recurring problems with the plane's nose landing gear.

A Canadian study issued last year documented 67 incidents of nose-landing-gear failures on Airbus 319, 320 and 321 aircraft worldwide since 1989.

Plagens said the A320 wasn't grounded after previous incidents involving the nose landing gear because "they did do fixes for those things."

After the initial investigation, the NTSB will look at maintenance records for other Airbus A320 aircraft, Plagens said. Investigators will review other instances involving the plane's nose wheel, as well as modifications recommended to fix the problem.

"If we find a pattern, we'll certainly do something," he said.

NTSB officials expect the investigation into Flight 292's emergency landing to take six to nine months. They have removed the cockpit voice recorder and the digital flight data recorder from the plane and sent them to Washington for evaluation.

In the next few days, safety officials will decide whether to send the entire nose-landing-gear assembly to New York, where mechanics will take it apart piece by piece and reassemble it to try to re-create the failure.

The landing gear on the nose of the A320, also known as the nose wheel, is a big, bulky system controlled by a computer. The computer gives commands to an electrical system, which in turn operates the hydraulics that move the gear up and down, moving the wheels into proper position for both landing and storage.

The problem that caused the wheel on Flight 292 to lock in the wrong position could have been caused by the electrical system, the hydraulics or some other part of the assembly, Plagens said.

The 3-year-old aircraft was towed to a Continental Airlines hangar at LAX for evaluation. It remained there Thursday. Airbus engineers were flying to Los Angeles on Thursday night to help NTSB investigators determine what caused the incident.

The circumstances of Wednesday's incident bear strong similarities to other documented incidents of Airbus 320 and 319 airplanes experiencing front wheels locking in the wrong position.

Two causes for the misaligned front wheels have been found.

A problem with misaligned wheels on a 1999 America West flight into Columbus, Ohio, was caused by a faulty seal on a valve. That design flaw had been known before the flight because of a previous incident and had been the subject of an advisory to airlines using the Airbus 320 planes. The fix had not yet been made on the aircraft involved in the emergency landing. After the flight, federal safety officials issued an order that required the repair.

 

[nimtz]

It's pretty obvious Jetblue PR is riding this horse as far as it can. Here's the cover story of the New York Daily News today.

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/349134p-297803c.html

 

[1-tacan-rule]

Crappy reporting....

Let's all face it, the reporters on all networks did a pizz-poor job of covering this incident.

Sure, they all gave adequate time to describing the LiveTV and all....but I didn't hear squat about the all-leather seats, extra leg room, ability to recline in the back row and the seat forward of the exit row, virtually unlimited snacks onboard, etc.

Yellow journalism, I say.

 

[Dogwood]

Let's all face it, the reporters on all networks did a pizz-poor job of covering this incident.

Sure, they all gave adequate time to describing the LiveTV and all....but I didn't hear squat about the all-leather seats, extra leg room, ability to recline in the back row and the seat forward of the exit row, virtually unlimited snacks onboard, etc.

Yellow journalism, I say.

Don't forget the unlimited "Blue Chips"

 

[h25b]

I'm all for the "Buy American" thing, but a quick look at the parts content/point of assembly information on the window sticker of my wife's Honda Odyssey and my Honda Civic tells me that I have done the right thing by buying Japanese. Nothing (or at least not much) is just "Made in the USA" anymore

Maybe someone could tell me what the U.S. parts content percentage is on an Airbus A-320 ??? I'm betting there's a significant percentage of American parts and it's not out of the realm of possibility that this suspect nosewheel steering control unit is in fact American.

Food for thought...

 

[Frontier1]

I wonder if JB's Mx outsourcing to South America has anything to do with this.

NO, NO. In a cost cutting move the airline gave the mx duties to the pilots on top of their laundy list of duties that also includes extensive janitorial duties.

But I also heard that the pilots are being hired from south of the boarder so either way works.