South Korea's transport ministry said Monday it has completed checkups on the country's 151 B737-NG planes for structural cracks, while aiming to finish the repair and replacement work on 13 faulty planes by January.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport discovered structural cracks on 13 B737-NG planes and immediately grounded them. A team of Boeing engineers flew to Seoul on Oct. 31 to help fix the problems.
The 13 planes include five from Korean Air Lines Co., three from Jin Air Co., three from Jeju Air Co. and two from Eastar Jet.
This undated file photo, provided by Jin Air, shows a B737-800NG plane at an overseas airport. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
One from Jin Air plane and another from Korean Air resumed services last week after the US Federal Aviation Administration and the ministry approved the outcome of the repair work through safety checks and test flights.
"US engineers are now working on one Jin Air and one Korean Air B737-NG plane. We are targeting to complete the repair and replacement work on all of the 13 affected planes by the end of January," a ministry official told Yonhap News Agency over the phone.
In early October, the FAA ordered aircraft operators to conduct checks on B737-NG airliners for structural cracks after Boeing discovered cracks on an aircraft undergoing modifications in China and notified the FAA of the issue.
South Korea has two full-service carriers -- Korean Air and Asiana Airlines Inc. -- and seven low-cost carriers -- Jeju Air, Jin Air, Air Busan Co., Air Seoul Inc., Eastar Jet, T'way Air Co. and Fly Gangwon.
Asiana Airlines and its two budget carriers, Air Seoul and Air Busan, do not operate B737-NG planes in their fleets. (Yonhap)
