FAA = Federal Absurd Agency

Want to know why all the MD80 and MD88 aircraft are grounded and getting re-inspected?? You have I'm sure heard the explaination by American and Delta that it is a 'technical compliance issue' not a safety issue.. ALL the aircraft were inspected..

Well it goes like this: the inspection requires that a bundle of wires that are in the wheel-well area be inspected for chaffed insulation, cracks in insulation, and abrasion wear from the wires rubbing against each other.. The bundle has to have it's protective spiral of nylon, that looks like a heavy duty nylon spring wrapped around the wires, this protective nylon spiral is cut off, each wire inspected, repairs made, then a new nylon spiral installed,, and then there are to be tie-wraps, sometimes called zip-ties installed around the wire bundle, to hold it all together and rigid. These zip-ties are just like the ones that come with many trashbags, just more heavy duty..

The inspection directions state that the zip ties are to be spaced 1" apart.. well the FAA found that on many of the airplanes that there were several spots on the wire bundles that the zip ties were more than 1" apart,, as much as 1.25" yes, an extra 1/4" between the zip ties.. The FAA has decided that the whole inspection process is faulty, and the entire inspection must be performed again, and the zip-ties MUST be 1" apart..

The airlines asked to be allowed to just add an addtional zip tie between the ones 1.25" apart,, But no,, the FAA will not allow it. So there are about 500 aircraft grounded... all over a 1/4" too-wide space between two zip-ties...

Absolutely absurd...

The FAA is retaliating because they were cited as being lax in allowing Southwest to extend an inspection on some of their aircraft.. So since they got cited,, the airlines and the flying public are going to 'pay'.. Just ridiculous..

greg L

Jeez. That is ridiculous. Especially to make them ground the entire fleet and fix it all right now. Couldn't have let them ground individual planes as the maintenance crews could do the work over the next month or so? I'm all for safety and compliance and all that, but this sounds like the dumbass applications of "zero tolerance" policy at schools that we hear about every week or two.

And why aren't any of the news stories actually detailing what the "problem" is? Same thing happened back during the first inspection/grounding fiasco over this issue. As you've described it, It's pretty simple to understand. They could get some former maintenance or inspection workers with knowledge of it to provide some context and "expert" opinion. Get some FAA comment and airline comment on it, maybe talk to the ground crews doing the work. Makes for a good story, certainly better than "The FAA is making us ground the fleet, it's not a safety issue, but a compliance issue, we're sorry for the inconvenience, and the CEO of the airline takes responsibility for it all."

LsFarm wrote: SNIP... The inspection directions state that the zip ties are to be spaced 1" apart.. well the FAA found that on many of the airplanes that there were several spots on the wire bundles that the zip ties were more than 1" apart,, as much as 1.25" yes, an extra 1/4" between the zip ties.. The FAA has decided that the whole inspection process is faulty, and the entire inspection must be performed again, and the zip-ties MUST be 1" apart.. SNIP...greg L

Bureaucrat thinking, 1" vs. 1.25", 25% out of spec. Must be a big problem.

Typical benefit of more government and oversight on all aspects of what we do in our daily lives. Not that air safety is not important, just not the best idea to let a government agency with CYA tendencies be in charge. How about we "commercialize" the FAA like we did the PO, might just get some performance out of the old boys! If the FAA had anything like the new Postal Enhancement and Accountability Act maybe the customers would be the primary concern instead of the good old boys who rise to power and protect their political position through their actions and decisions instead of being really concerned for accountability and service to the airline passengers and airlines alike.

Sorry rant over, couldn't help myself, saw the same kind of thinking by some of the folks when working with NASA on manned flight safety for the space program.

I can't wait until hitlery gets elected You know she wil stick it to the man!!! She knows more about aircraft than the Wright bros. or Howard Hughes

As for me, I'll never get in a commercial plane again. I'd rather swim to Europe. The airports now have "behavioral specialists" that can tell suspicious people just by looking at them, and these people that are identified as "suspicious" are interrogated, searched, belittled, stripped, detained, you name it. No *censored* way Bubba, I'm not paying $400 for a plane ticket to be treated like a criminal. Yes, if you are wondering, I look suspicious.