WASHINGTON -- The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it is ordering inspections of Boeing (IW 500/14) 767 airplanes to check for problems that could cause the pilot to lose control of the plane.
The FAA, in a government filing, said the mandatory safety checks were prompted by reports of failed sheer rivets in the elevator power control actuator bellcrank, used in adjusting the pitch of the aircraft.
The FAA said its airworthiness directive was issued to prevent continued operation with failed shear rivets and to prevent "certain failures or jams" causing a condition "resulting in a significant pitch upset and possible loss of control of the airplane."
The FAA's new order supercedes a series of inspections of 767s, Boeing's popular twin-aisle aircraft, after problems with the same rivets were discovered in 2000.
The FAA estimated the order affects 415 U.S.-registered airplanes.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2014
