One Korean Air Plane Grounded Due to Cracks
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on Nov. 17 that it inspected 24 A330s of Korean Air and 15 of Asiana Airlines and microcracks were found in the engines of 21 in total.
The 21 are divided into 10 of Korean Air and 11 of Asiana Airlines. “One of the planes of Korean Air exceeded the cracking tolerance of the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States, it was immediately grounded at the completion of the inspection on Nov. 1, and bore scope inspections will be conducted on the rest,” the ministry said, adding, “We told the airlines to check the engines every 85 flights whereas the administration’s advice is every 175.”
The cracks were found in low-pressure turbine components, which do not have to be inspected on normal occasions according to the manufacturers’ manual. Korean Air has 30 A330s in total and the six uninspected this time are scheduled to be discarded soon.