Seven Of United Airlines 747s Have Altitude Indicators Reset
March 21, 2008
United Airlines released a formal response today, to rumors that some of their planes had been grounded due to technical issues. U.A. stated that the planes are currently having their altitude indicators reset, as the company had just become aware that the test equipment was overdue for re-calibration.
No issues have been found on any of the seven 747s which are having their altitude indicators reset, and the downtime for the planes in question has nothing to do with an air worthiness directive.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced earlier this week that they are raising their involvement in overseeing maintenance records of airline operations, both in and out of the country. This comes just a week after Southwest Airlines was fined $10.2 million by the FAA, for not checking for cracks in the bodies of their planes often enough.
A statement has been issued by the Teamsters Union, who are looking to also represent mechanics from U.A., in which they say that this new report by the FAA not only indicates the need for higher regulation of aircraft repairs within the country, but also serves to emphasize the importance of overseeing repairs at facilities oversees.