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Europe
Recriminations erupt in ash-fueled aviation crisis
2010-04-22
AMSTERDAM -- Airlines toted up losses topping $2 billion and struggled to get hundreds of thousands of travelers back home Wednesday after a week of crippled air travel, as questions and recriminations erupted over Europe's chaotic response to the volcanic ash cloud.

Civil aviation authorities defended their decisions to ground fleets and close the skies -- and later to reopen them -- against heated charges by airline chiefs that the decisions were based on flawed data or unsubstantiated fears.

The aviation crisis sparked by a volcanic eruption in Iceland left millions in flightless limbo, created debilitating losses for airlines and other industries and even threatened Europe's economic recovery. An aviation group called the financial fallout worse than the three-day worldwide shutdown after the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.
Posted by:tu3031

#5  Someone told me that aviation maintenance stuff many moons ago over a beer at the Great Alaskan Bush Co. Thanks for the validation AP.
Posted by: Besoeker   2010-04-22 21:00  

#4  You are right Besoeker. Air transports go on progressive maintenance schedules to minimize down time. Airlines submit and get approval of a Continuous Airworthiness Maintenance Program.

Then they perform A checks, routine ones or B checks. Then they do the C check, which opens the plane up pretty good. 12-18 months.

Then after a number of years they do the D check, where they evicerate the plane. Takes time and is expensive.

I have seen c checks, looks like abdominal surgery.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2010-04-22 20:49  

#3  Commercial airlines don't use military style maintenance cycles. I believe they use something called "progressive maintenance" where they check a certain number of aircraft systems per week or month. Engines are replaced at hourly use intervals as I recall.
Posted by: Besoeker   2010-04-22 11:54  

#2  And what happens when one of these airliners crash and burn with hundreds of vacationers on board? We all saw the damage to that F-18's engines. Who here thinks these airlines are going to maintenance cycle all of those engines, thereby grounding a significant portion of their fleet? CYA or prudence? Hindsight is 20/20 and armchair bitching is easy. It's not your job, your reputation, nor your life on the line.
Posted by: AllahHateMe   2010-04-22 11:03  

#1  Bureaucratic CYA. Who cares if those filthy capitalists lose money?
Posted by: gromky   2010-04-22 00:34  

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