US Airways Flight 1250, traveling from Orlando, Florida to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has become the latest chapter in the saga of airlines struggling with fuel prices, lost luggage, and stressed out, well, everybody. While American Airlines grounded over a thousand flights recently to make sure they were up to FAA standards, and Southwest was exposed for flying planes with structural cracks, Flight 1250 is this fear put in motion.
In March, while flying over Maryland, a four foot by five foot section of paneling from the left wing came loose and flew off. It hit windows toward the rear of the plane before disappearing into the Maryland sky. The missing piece has yet to be found. The outside panes of several windows were broken but the inner panes held, and the plane never lost cabin pressure.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) downgraded this from “accident” to “incident” because the plane was still able to fly normally. Flight 1250 did touch down 30 minutes after the “incident” and none of the 180 people on board were injured. Scared, yes, but unharmed.
Problem with Fasteners
Investigators found that wing fasteners were cracked on the plane’s wing. The remaining pieces of the wing were found to have metal fatigue which caused two of the three clips to “fail” before the flight, and the third failed during the incident. The clips were installed after problems were found in fasteners installed earlier. All 757s were ordered to install a redesigned fastening system in the 1980s by the FAA. Eastern Airlines used to own the plane involved in the March incident and was installed with the redesigned fastening system. It was this system that failed.
Fortunately Flight 1250 was able to land without any further problems. However, as the nation’s air fleet continues to age, more and more planes are found to have problems like this one. US Airways reportedly found fastener problems with seven other planes after this incident. Multiply that by the number of carriers in the US, and the chances for a catastrophic air disaster goes up.
While the loss of a loved one in a plane crash is incredibly slim, it can still happen. If you have suffered the loss of a family member in an airline disaster, please contact an experienced injury lawyer in your area.
