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News
Alaska Air grounds planes
August 4, 2000: 12:12 a.m. ET

Says gear may have provided false data on tests of MD-80 fleet after crash
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NEW YORK (CNN) - Alaska Airlines informed the Federal Aviation Administration Thursday night it is grounding up to 18 of its MD-80 jets after it discovered that some of the tools used to test the jackscrews on the planes may have given faulty readings.

Other carriers have already begun checking their equipment, but none have said they need to ground planes, Alison Duquet, an FAA spokeswoman, said Friday.

graphicThe FAA heightened scrutiny of Alaska Airlines (ALK: Research, Estimates) following the Jan. 31 crash of Alaska Flight 261 off the coast of California. All 88 people on board died.

Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the crash, but attention is focused on a jackscrew and gimble nut assembly that apparently failed, contributing to the crash. The jackscrew helps control the horizontal stabilizer, which controls the plane's up-and-down movement.

"Alaska officials deemed the inspections necessary after tests conducted by the airline indicated that the endplay measurement could vary in certain circumstances," Bill Ayer, Alaska Airlines president and chief operating officer, said at a press conference late Thursday.

The FAA is also asking all airlines with the Boeing (BA: Research, Estimates) manufactured MD-80s in their fleets to check the tools used to check the jackscrews. An FAA press release said DC-9 planes are also affected.

Continental Airlines (CAL: Research, Estimates) has begun checking its tools to test jackscrews on the 68 MD-80s in its fleet, spokeswoman Sarah Anthony said Friday adding that grounding of planes is unlikely.

American Airlines (AMR: Research, Estimates), which carries the most MD-80s in its fleet of any U.S. carrier, 279, could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.

The problem came to light when Alaska Airlines tested its jackscrews, and found that the tools used to measure their tolerance may not have given accurate readings. Boeing-made machines to test jackscrews are not in question; however, so-called "second tier" tools, which are copies of the Boeing-made machines, are the ones found to give possibly faulty readings.

"Alaska has been able to verify that the manufacturer's tool was used to measure the endplay on 16 of its 34 MD-80s. Accordingly, the carrier has decided to reinspect its remaining MD-80 aircraft," Ayer said.

When Alaska Airlines tested its jackscrews in the aftermath of the crash, they were found to be within accepted tolerance levels.  It is not known which machine -- the Boeing or the copy -- was used to perform those tests.

The FAA statement said the National Transportation Safety Board is assisting with the checks.

The grounding of the Alaska Airlines planes, as well as the alert issued to all airlines, could greatly affect air traffic and travel in the United States. The FAA statement said international carriers were also notified of the problem.

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"Aircraft will be inspected throughout the night, and a number will be back in service tomorrow," Ayer said. "While some cancellations will continue into the weekend, Alaska officials are working to minimize the disruption."

Shares of Alaska Airlines slipped 5/8 to 27-5/16 Friday. Back to top

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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.