Aviation regulators will order tougher inspections of hundreds of Boeing 757 planes worldwide, after a recent in-flight incident that left a hole in the fuselage of an American Airlines plane, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
According to the newspaper, the Federal Aviation Administration has drafted enhanced inspection mandates after a in-flight incident that occurred on October 26 when an American plane was cruising at 31,000 feet en route from Miami to Boston.
A Boeing spokeswoman told The Wall Street Journal that the company has already issued a bulletin urging carriers to inspect the upper forward skin on certain 757s to detect potential cracks.
The American jet, a Boeing 757-200, made an emergency landing at Miami International Airport after experiencing a rapid decompression, not long after the aircraft had departed Miami en route to Boston.
AA flight 1640 was carrying 154 passengers and 6 crew. The crew donned their oxygen masks and initiated an emergency descent as the passenger oxygen masks were deployed.
A post flight inspection revealed a hole of about 1 foot by 2 feet (33 by 66cm) just above the “A” of the American Airlines Logo.
According to the Journal, the same month cracks were found in the fuselage of a United Airlines Boeing 757. Another American 757 was undergoing repairs in Los Angeles this week due to fuselage cracks.