Passenger sees Boeing 757-200 “wing coming apart” mid-air — United flight from San Francisco to Boston makes emergency landing in Denver::A United Airlines flight to Boston was diverted to Denver because of an issue with the plane’s wing.
Passenger sees Boeing 757-200 “wing coming apart” mid-air — United flight from San Francisco to Boston makes emergency landing in Denver::A United Airlines flight to Boston was diverted to Denver because of an issue with the plane’s wing.
That’s a pretty old plane last produced in 2004.
Eh, idk if plane age really matters. They are completely disassembled and reassembled per standard every year to ensure that they are good to go.
Student planes are like 1960s, give or take.
E: I’m being told by comments that they do not do teardowns. Idk. I fly planes, not work on them. My CFIs have told me they do annual teardowns. So… Idk. Maybe, maybe not?
It does matter. Shows this is more a maintenance issue than a defect in the model.
They are absolutely not “completely disassembled every year.” Where do you people come up with this stuff?
My FBO/CFIs said that they teardown the airplanes every annual to every nut and bolt. I applied that and assumed that meant the big ones, too.
They’re just plain facts. Did you know that the pilots each have to take a shit before they board? The airlines force them to do it, to conserve on fuel.
No the FUCK they’re not
There are inspections and flight worthiness manuals. Nobody is going to complete tear down a fucking jet and bolt it together again, that’s literally less secure.
You should read what’s done in an annual. For GA, aopa had a good article recently talking about doing the right maintenance because doing everything your AP suggests may be more intrusive and less healthy for the plane. It’s not as aggressive you’re claiming.
Also as others note, age matters in determining where the issue came from. Eg this almost certainly isn’t a Boeing issue.
As a new pilot I really recommend watching the show Mayday Aircraft Investigations, it’s very informative. The accidents are for commercial aircraft, but still I think seeing all the details and the root causes and breakdown in process is enlightening even as a private pilot.
Thanks, I’ll check it out. My exp. with flying was… I was in school for commercial aviation. I think I made it 2 years in? Got my PPL and was making my way through instrument before I made a life decision to buy a house for my family. I could either afford school or the house, but not both.
I love aviation and flying is the single greatest thing in the world to me… Besides my family.
The air safety institute videos are a great watch, too. Also check out Lucaas, Captain Joe, or 74 gear for more aviation videos.
But also, even though they’re older, they’re still loved by pilots and are good in difficult conditions because they’re pretty over-engined
There are Douglas DC3s still flying in commercial service (not many, but a few). Those were built in the 1940s. 2004 is not all that old a plane.
Still, it’s old enough that problems like this should be attributed to lack of maintenance on the airline’s part rather than an issue in the design or manufacture of the plane.
Point is, it’s a maintenance issue, the media is quick to shit on Boeing. I mean they earned that but try to have integrity while reporting.
This particular plane is 29 years old.
That said, commercial airliners can go for decades just fine as long as they are maintained properly. Newer planes will be more efficient and have some newer features, but a tried-and-true airframe that has been well maintained is worth keeping around.