Lion Air reported on Friday that it found structural cracks in two Boeing 737 NG (Next Generation) planes, triggering questions about the safety measures taken during the manufacturing of the said jets.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the new problem could prompt the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to require all airliners to inspect Boeing 737 NG jets with no less than 22,600 cycles to ensure their safety.
While checks were not really required on the said jets yet, Lion Air decided that it had to do an inspection on the planes to safety assurance purposes, resulting in the discovery of the cracks.
The Indonesian airline operator revealed in its report that the cracks found were on the pickle fork part of the planes. The pickle fork is a component attacked to the wing structure, body, or fuselage of a jet.
In line with the latest crisis that Boeing is faced with, a spokesman for the FAA said the regulator has already asked 737 NG operators to report any issues or cracks they find on the planes so the agency can determine if there is a need to revamp its existing inspection orders.
Indonesian director general of Civil Aviation, Polana Pramesti, did confirm that Indonesia's aviation regulation agency will not pursue further inspections unless the FAA says so.
The 737 NG aircraft in question is now being dragged to the 737 Max issue since it's only been over a year when a Lion Air jet crashed shortly after takeoff from the Indonesian capital of Jakarta.
The crash resulted in the deaths of 189 people, including the pilots and all passengers on board. In March, an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max model also nosedived multiple times before crashing, shortly after takeoff. All in all, the two crashes led to the deaths of 346 people.
So far, the airlines that grounded 737 NG fleets after discovering cracks are Korean Air Lines, Brazilian Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes, Southwest Airlines, and Australian Qantas Airways.
Business Insider pointed out that the Boeing 737 New Generation is actually the "backbone" of global commercial fleets. The variants under the aircraft set have sold over 7,000 around the world.
While the 737 Max jet's control system crisis and the 737 NG's issues are two separate matters to look into, industry experts are now questioning the credibility of Boeing's safety manufacturing processes as a whole.
Boeing said in a statement after news of the latest problem emerged that it is working cooperatively with airlines affected with the issue.
It remains to be seen whether other airlines will follow suit in grounding 737 NG jets while the FAA and Boeing work to resolve the matter.
