Kim Hyun-bin began his journalism career at Arirang TV from 2012 to 2017, specializing in defense, foreign affairs and the economy. In 2018, he joined The Korea Times, covering society and business, and is currently responsible for embassy affairs.
Korean airlines ground 9 Boeing 737NGs due to defects
Korean Air B737-900
By Kim Hyun-bin
By Kim Hyun-bin
Local airlines have grounded nine Boeing 737 Next Generation (NG) planes as there were defects found.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the airlines conducted emergency inspections on the Boeing model and found nine to be defective, Thursday.
The country's flagship carrier Korean Air grounded five planes followed by Jin Air with three and Jeju Air with one aircraft.
“There were some defects with the pickle forks which connect the wings and the aircraft body,” a Korean Air official said.
The B737NG is an older version of the aircraft manufacturer's best-selling B737 Max 8 model, which was involved in two deadly crashes, one with Ethiopian Airlines in March and another with Indonesia's Lion Air in October last year.
In late September, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an order for airlines to inspect their Boeing 737NG planes after the manufacturer alerted it to a cracking issue.
Korea's airlines operate 150 737NGs and the transport ministry ordered inspections of 42 of them which had accumulated over 30,000 flights. Among the inspected planes, nine turned out to have defects and many experts expect the total number of defective planes to increase as inspections of the remaining planes are scheduled to be held.
“We will conduct inspections on the remaining B737NGs to see if there are any safety problems and will take necessary measures,” a transport ministry official said.
The repairs require technical advice from the manufacturer so the maintenance could start at the earliest in November and the maintenance itself is estimated to take up to three weeks, during which the airlines are expected to face losses.