PT>>(Plane Topic) Alaska Air Grounds Two Planes

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Summary: LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Two Alaska Airlines MD-80 series planes were grounded today after problems were found in the jackscrews, one focus of the investigation into the crash of Alaska Flight 261.

Alaska Air Grounds Two Planes

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Two Alaska Airlines MD-80 series planes were grounded today after problems were found in the jackscrews, one focus of the investigation into the crash of Alaska Flight 261.

The problems were discovered during inspections that started after a damaged piece was pulled from the wreckage of Flight 261, which was an MD-83.

The planes ``were found to have metal filings or shavings in or around the horizontal stabilizer jackscrews,'' said Ted Lopatkiewicz, spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board. ``And so they are being withheld from service until our investigators can get there and look at them. Our investigators will be getting to them today.''

On Wednesday, Boeing Co. urged all airlines that fly MD-80 jetliners and related aircraft to inspect their fleets for evidence of damage. Several, including Alaska, had started their inspections before the manufacturer's announcement.

Alaska checked 31 of its 34 MD-80s, and found two with the shavings around the jackscrew, the device that drives the horizontal stabililzer. The pilots of Flight 261 reported problems controlling the stabilizer before the crash.

Mechanics in Portland, Ore., and Seattle discovered the problems today. An airline spokesman refused to comment further.

Copyright ) 2000 Associated Press Information Services, all rights reserved.

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-- Dee (T1Colt556@aol.com), February 10, 2000

Answers

Whew! Just flew on three of them.

-- Nelson Isada (isada@alaska.net), February 10, 2000.

Sounds like the screws needed grease! If the hinges are corroded making the stabilizer hard to manipulate and the screws are not greased making them hard to turn (causing the filings), no wonder the thing was hard to control. If the thing is broken, you are not going to fix it by continually playing with it. You can only make it worse which is what the pilots may have done! They should have just landed at Los Angeles when they had the chance.

-- Doug Fletcher (dflet@succeed.net), February 10, 2000.

Yes, I warned them way back on Feb. 2 that all MD80 series and similar aircraft should be grounded and thoroughly inspected. They have now gorunded about 1,100 aircraft, 1/5 of the entire U.S. fleet. It is a good thing they finally listened to me, but more people will be killed unless they replace the embedded chips.

-- Hawk (flyin@high.again), February 11, 2000.

Well, Mr. Fast-and-Loose with the facts is as it again:

Yes, I warned them way back on Feb. 2 that all MD80 series and similar aircraft should be grounded and thoroughly inspected.

What, you called the FAA and said, "Hey, this is Hawk! Better ground those MD-80's, OK?" What a laugh! An anonymous post on a Y2K Bulletin Board hardly constitutes "warning them."

They have now gorunded about 1,100 aircraft, 1/5 of the entire U.S. fleet.

Not quite. Many airlines had already begun inspections and cleared many of the aircraft in question. And they are not all grounded, they have three days to perform the inspections.

It is a good thing they finally listened to me, but more people will be killed unless they replace the embedded chips.

Wow, aren't we impressed with ourselves? But I thought you said it was a Y2K/embedded chip problem with the stabilizer servodrive unit? How will checking the jackscrew address that issue? I guess the didn't listen to you after all! Imagine that -- I am stunned that they wouldn't jump right on your suggestion!

-- My Full Name (My@email.address), February 11, 2000.


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