JEDDAH, 16 September — Saudi Arabian Airlines announced yesterday that its Boeing 737-200 planes were free from technical problems. The announcement followed American Federal Aviation Administration directive that all Boeing 737s must undergo immediate inspection as technical faults were detected.
Capt. Ahmad Abdul Qader Jazzar, head of maintenance at Saudia, told Arab News that the Boeing 737s purchased by the airline did not include those planes having technical faults in the control system.
He pointed out that the FAA directive concerned only 700, 600 and 800 varieties of Boeing 737s. “We have only 737-200 varieties,” he added.
FAA on Saturday ordered airlines to inspect flight control modules aboard their Boeing 737 passenger planes, warning that defective equipment could result in loss of control of the plane.
The order covers recently manufactured Boeing 737s, from the 600 through 900 series, according to the order made public by the agency.
FAA warned that one failed fight control module could result “in reduced controllability of the airplane” whereas two failed modules could even lead to “loss of control of the plane.”
Since its introduction in 1965, the Boeing 737 has become the workhorse of the US airline industry, carrying about 6.1 billion passengers, or the equivalent of the world population, according to the company.
“The FAA warning is for newly manufactured planes. What we have at Saudia are aircraft made much before that period,” Jazzar said. But he did not say when Saudia’s 737 planes were manufactured.
Jazzar said Saudia was using only three Boeing 737s at present. It has stopped 18 737s from service earlier. “We have inspected these three planes soon after receiving the FAA directive. Tests proved that they were not having technical problems,” he added.
