Warbird Information Exchange :: View topic - What's the story with UAL's 757 groundings?

United grounds 757s to check air-data software

By Julie Johnsson
Posted today at 7:48 p.m.

United Airlines has grounded its fleet of 96 Boeing 757s after determining that the planes’ air data computer software did not comply with a Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness directive.

United began testing its 757s late Tuesday afternoon and may delay or cancel flights until the process is completed in 12 to 24 hours, said United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy. The software checks take approximately 60 to 90 minutes per plane.

“We apologize for any inconvenience and ask customers to check their flights status on United.com before going to the airport,” McCarthy said. As of 6 p.m. Central time, United had canceled only seven flights on its Tuesday schedule, according to FlightStats.com.

United is scrambling to comply with a 2004 FAA airworthiness directive that spelled out software and hardware changes for air-data computer systems in Boeing 757, 767 and 747 aircraft. “This action is necessary to ensure that the flight crew is able to silence an erroneous overspeed or stall aural warning,” the directive stated.

On a routine maintenance check Tuesday, United discovered that it hadn’t followed all of the steps mandated by the FAA to address safety concerns with the 757 flight computers that measure air speed and monitor atmospheric conditions.

United installed the software required by federal regulators in 2004 but hadn’t performed all of the necessary checks. The 757s’ air data computer systems have been “fully functional,” McCarthy said.

Chicago-based United acted voluntarily and not at the behest of federal regulators, said FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory.

The action does not affect Boeing 757 aircraft flown by Continental Airlines, which merged with United in October. The two continue to operate separately and won’t combine fleets, flight crews and maintenance stations until they gain a single operating certificate from the FAA.

United’s action is not related to electrical shorts that have caused some 757 windshields to crack, said FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown, referring to another issue that has made headlines in the last year.

Author:	The Inspector [ Tue Feb 15, 2011 7:50 pm ]
Post subject:	What's the story with UAL's 757 groundings?
I just saw something on the 50 inch peephole into paradise about United voluntarilly grounding all it's 757's for a maintenance issue, is this something to do with the incidents of crown skin cracks?

Author:	b29flteng [ Tue Feb 15, 2011 7:58 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: What's the story with UAL's 757 groundings?
United Airlines is temporarily grounding its 96 Boeing 757 jetliners to ensure that modifications to air-data computers were properly carried out, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. United “discovered it hadn’t properly complied with steps required by the Federal Aviation Administration in checking the work on those computers, which take air speed, air pressure and other parameters in flight and input them into the auto-pilot and other critical cockpit functions,” The Journal reported. It said checks will be done as 757s in flight reach their destinations, will not cause diversion of flights, and would mostly be done by Wednesday. The grounding doesn’t cover the 62 Continental Airlines 757s. United and Continental have merged under the United name but are still operating separately for now. The FAA told The Journal that the grounding was United’s voluntary decision. Boeing referred questions to United. In a presumably unrelated event, a United Airbus A320 made unscheduled landing in Grand Junction, Colo., of a United 757 flight from Los Angeles to Baltimore. The Associated Press attributed that diversion to a warning light wrongly indicating smoke in the cargo area.

Author:	The Inspector [ Tue Feb 15, 2011 9:36 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: What's the story with UAL's 757 groundings?
Well that's settled, the news blip of course, went into less than zero explanation of what was going on---

Author:	CAPFlyer [ Wed Feb 16, 2011 12:48 am ]
Post subject:	Re: What's the story with UAL's 757 groundings?
Here's a better article (important part emphasized)- http://chicagobreakingbusiness.com/2011 ... -work.html Quote: United grounds 757s to check air-data software By Julie Johnsson Posted today at 7:48 p.m. United Airlines has grounded its fleet of 96 Boeing 757s after determining that the planes’ air data computer software did not comply with a Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness directive. United began testing its 757s late Tuesday afternoon and may delay or cancel flights until the process is completed in 12 to 24 hours, said United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy. The software checks take approximately 60 to 90 minutes per plane. “We apologize for any inconvenience and ask customers to check their flights status on United.com before going to the airport,” McCarthy said. As of 6 p.m. Central time, United had canceled only seven flights on its Tuesday schedule, according to FlightStats.com. United is scrambling to comply with a 2004 FAA airworthiness directive that spelled out software and hardware changes for air-data computer systems in Boeing 757, 767 and 747 aircraft. “This action is necessary to ensure that the flight crew is able to silence an erroneous overspeed or stall aural warning,” the directive stated. On a routine maintenance check Tuesday, United discovered that it hadn’t followed all of the steps mandated by the FAA to address safety concerns with the 757 flight computers that measure air speed and monitor atmospheric conditions. United installed the software required by federal regulators in 2004 but hadn’t performed all of the necessary checks. The 757s’ air data computer systems have been “fully functional,” McCarthy said. Chicago-based United acted voluntarily and not at the behest of federal regulators, said FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory. The action does not affect Boeing 757 aircraft flown by Continental Airlines, which merged with United in October. The two continue to operate separately and won’t combine fleets, flight crews and maintenance stations until they gain a single operating certificate from the FAA. United’s action is not related to electrical shorts that have caused some 757 windshields to crack, said FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown, referring to another issue that has made headlines in the last year.

Author:	Hemiman [ Sun Feb 27, 2011 3:11 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: What's the story with UAL's 757 groundings?
Yep..computer upgrades.. We are just finishing up the AD for pulling the O2 generators out of the lavs.. Bill

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Author:	The Inspector [ Sun Feb 27, 2011 4:18 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: What's the story with UAL's 757 groundings?
I remember one early 757 that Boeing pulled out of rattlesnake junction for a lease customer. Boeing had a heck of a time finding the programming computers used on the flight data computers as the EFIS had advanced so much that the new programming computers weren't compatible and wouldn't sync up. they finally found a programming computer(and we suspected the hand crank to make it work) to do the task and the airplane was ferried to KPAE from the desert. Enroute, the crew wrote up 19 pages ( 6 entries per page!) of things that didn't or wouldn't work causing our leg shavers a lot of grief and heartache to sort them out.

Author:	cwmc [ Sun Feb 27, 2011 6:33 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: What's the story with UAL's 757 groundings?
Sounds like every desert reclaimation flight. Chris...

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