United grounds jets upon finding inspections overdue

United Airlines grounded its fleet of 96 Boeing 757s late Tuesday after discovering it had not completed safety checks on a critical equipment upgrade required by federal aviation regulators.

The airline, which found the problem and voluntarily halted takeoffs on the jets, expected to cancel or delay an unspecified number of flights through today while it performed the checks, spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said. United uses the planes mostly on long-range flights in the U.S., such as flights across the country.

"We apologize for any inconvenience for our customers," McCarthy said. "We are using all available resources to address this issue."

The problem occurred on the 757's air data computer, which measures air pressure and other atmospheric conditions to determine speed and altitude. The Federal Aviation Administration on June 22, 2004, ordered that the computers be replaced and that mechanics perform a check to ensure they were working properly. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/story/2011/02/United-grounds-jets-upon-finding-inspections-overdue/43781132/1

but here's a link to a CNN story on it: http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/02/15/united.757s.grounded/

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http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_17396046

United Airlines grounded its entire fleet of Boeing 757-model jets today to check onboard computers and will continue checks for much of the day Wednesday after learning that the computers installed in 2004 had not been checked for compliance.

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Computers aboard the 96 aircraft handle data related to air pressure and temperature/ The units have functioned normally without any reported problems, according to the company.

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This maintenance result from a 2004 directive, when United upgraded computers but never did the proper checks to ensure they were in compliance, according to NBC News, which first reported the system-wide maintenance.

The network characterized the problem as more of a paperwork issue than a safety issue.

http://www.cityjournalistdirectory.com/event/computer_glitch_grounds_96_boeing_757_jets_united_airlines_12000/

There have been no accidents and no casualties but the airline has had to suspend all 757 flights until checks are complete on each jet to ensure that they are safe to resume flight schedules

Here is a technical analysis from United Airlines – quote - The computers, which handle data on items such as air pressure and temperature, recently underwent upgrades in which some steps needed to return the units to service weren’t completed or were performed out of sequence, Megan McCarthy, a spokeswoman, said today in a telephone interview.

All the affected computers have been working normally, she said.

"The computers, which handle data on items such as air pressure and temperature, recently underwent upgrades in which some steps needed to return the units to service weren’t completed or were performed out of sequence..."

In my life before full-time mama, I was a legal assistant for an aviation lawyer.

"It was unclear Tuesday whether United could face an enforcement action by federal aviation regulators, which could result in fines. To encourage honesty and promote safety, the FAA lets carriers that discover safety problems report them without fear of being punished."

Too bad it took them 6 years to fess up about it.

Sounds like there was a bit of palm-greasing going on. But, what do I know?

:shrug: