CAL leaves jet with cracked windshield in LA
(CNS): One of Cayman Airways Limited’s 737 Max8 aircraft was left in Los Angeles Wednesday so that its windshield could be repaired. The plane is not expected back until Saturday, leading to a reshuffle of the airline’s schedule after it ferried a replacement plane to operate flight KX481. The minor damage to the outermost, non-structural layer of the captain’s windshield occurred on landing at LAX on the evening of 3 January.
CAL said that while the defect did not affect the aircraft’s ability to be safely operated, a decision was taken to remove it from service and have the windshield replaced in Los Angeles.
Cayman Airways dispatched another plane from Grand Cayman to Los Angeles on the morning of 4 January to carry passengers booked on the weekly return flight to Grand Cayman from LAX, which was originally scheduled to leave at 7:00am.
Today’s flights have also been impacted, including the controversial Barbados route underwritten by that government’s tourism department. KX803 to Grand Cayman was due to depart Barbados at 11:40am (AST) today (Friday), while KX604 to Kingston was scheduled to leave Grand Cayman at 3:20pm with KX605 returning at 5:30pm.
KX606 to Kingston will now depart from here at 7:40pm and the return leg KX607 will leave Kingston at 9:50pm. All other flights remain as originally scheduled.
“Cayman Airways maintains its steadfast commitment to safety as the primary focus of the airline’s daily operations, and extends its apologies to affected passengers for any inconveniences that may arise as a result of these changes to the airline’s flight schedule,” the airline stated.
Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that all Boeing 737 Max8 aircraft had to undergo a special inspection after a bolt was discovered with a missing nut in the rudder control system during routine maintenance of one of these aircraft last month. The FAA has said it will remain in contact with Boeing and the airlines while the inspections are underway. The agency is asking all the airlines, including CAL, to work through their approved Safety Management Systems to identify whether any loose hardware has been detected previously and to provide the agency with details on how quickly these two-hour inspections can be completed.
Cayman Airways confirmed following publication that it had completed the required precautionary inspections of its B737-8 fleet during scheduled overnight ground layovers in Grand Cayman well ahead of the completion date requested by Boeing.
“No discrepancies were found during the inspections and this information has been communicated to Boeing in-keeping with their data collection associated with this precautionary B737 fleet inspection campaign,” the airline stated.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Category: Local News, Travel
https://www.adn.com/nation-world/2024/01/09/alaska-united-find-loose-parts-in-door-panels-during-inspections-of-boeing-max-9-jets/
Cayman Airways operate the MAX8, not the 9. Their aircraft do not have this plug door.
Cracked windshields happen everyday with every type of aircraft.This is only making news because it is Cayman Airways..They will install another one just like you would on your car if it gets cracked and off you go, nothing more to see here…
NOT TRUE!
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, more than three dozen instances of cracked windshields have been reported by airlines over the past five years.
It is about 1 cracked windshield for every 10,000,000 window flight hours!
What are the load factor for the LA Flights ?
Hopefully they are fully comp insurance and not 3 rd party only .
⚡️Alaska Airlines pilot frantically requests ATC help after plane window BLEW OUT over Portland.
After hearing the transmissions, it wasn’t frantic, it was professional and measured.
The warning light came on during three previous flights: on Dec. 7, Jan. 3 and Jan. 4 — the day before the door plug broke off.
The NTSB said the lost door plug was found Sunday near Portland, Oregon
Investigators will not have the benefit of hearing what was going on in the cockpit during the flight. The cockpit voice recorder — one of two so-called black boxes — recorded over the flight’s sounds after two hours, Homendy said.
At a news conference Sunday night, Homendy provided new details about the chaotic scene that unfolded on the plane. The explosive rush of air damaged several rows of seats and pulled insulation from the walls. The cockpit door flew open and banged into a lavatory door.
The force ripped the headset off the co-pilot and the captain lost part of her headset. A quick reference checklist kept within easy reach of the pilots flew out of the open cockpit.
https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2024/01/07/alaska-airlines-again-grounds-all-boeing-737-max-9-jetliners-more-maintenance-may-be-needed/