JAL, carried passengers with engines fitted in wrong place
JAL plane carried passengers with engines fitted in wrong place
A Japan Airlines (JAL) Boeing 747 aircraft whose left and right engines were mixed up during maintenance carried passengers on international flights for seven months before the error was uncovered, it has been learned.
Company officials said a maintenance firm in Singapore got the engines mixed when fitting them, and Japan Airlines officials failed to notice the mistake when the plane was handed over.
The error caused a check on one of the engines to be delayed beyond the specified period. Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry officials have instructed the airline to prevent a reoccurrence of the error.
Airline officials said the maintenance firm worked on the plane over two months from Feb. 14 this year. During this period the firm reportedly mixed up the far left and right engines of the four-engine plane. When Japan Airlines received the aircraft, officials failed to check serial numbers on the engines. From April 14, the plane departed and landed about 440 times on international flights.
The error was uncovered during an inspection on Nov. 14. Checks on a case covering the engine were delayed in the wake of the error.
JAL officials said the output of the engines was the same, but the placement angle differed depending on the engine, which affected reverse thrust. The error did not pose a safety threat, officials said. (Mainichi)
December 21, 2005
