Qantas 737’s: immediate structural inspections of 33 planes

Qantas has announced it will inspect all 33 of its Boeing 737 aircraft after a structural crack was found in one of its planes as part of a scheduled maintenance check.

The cracks pose no immediate threat to onboard safety, according to Qantas.

Boeing had informed owners that there were concerns about potential cracks in their 737 aircraft that had completed 30,000 or more take-offs and landings.

None of Qantas’s aircraft have reached this number of cycles, but Qantas has decided to inspect all 33 of these aircraft that it owns that have 22,600 cycles or more. It will complete these inspections by the end of this week, rather than within the next seven months as suggested by the manufacturer.

Qantas has re-iterated that there is no immediate compromise to the safety of the aircraft, even when such cracks are present.

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Qantas takes pride in its reputation for safety, especially since it was made famous by Dustin Hoffman in the 1989 movie Rainman.

The airline’s action is a good, strong, transparent corporate response to a potential safety threat.