Bob CollinsThere will, at least for now, be no additional inspections of jetliners for fatigue cracking in their skin, as a result of the Trump administration’s order to withdraw all regulations waiting to be published in the Federal Register.
Politico reports the inspections are one of dozens of regulations that were about to go into effect, that are canceled under the order from Reince Priebus, Trump’s chief of staff.
Politico says many of the regulations will likely move forward after the administration reviews them.
There doesn’t seem to be a lot of politics involved in the Federal Aviation Administration directive on the inspections.
The regulation to expand the inspections came after Boeing said the 737-100, -200, and -200C models were subject to “widespread fatigue damage” in the fuselage.
But the order won’t affect many U.S. travelers because the airlines have phased out the use of the 737 models (the famous Air Florida crash into the Potomac River was a 737-200) They are now used by airlines in Mexico, Canada, and Africa.
Not affected by the administration’s regulation rollback are FAA-required inspections of more recent 737 airplanes, ordered after a series of mishaps involving Southwest Airlines.
