The United States FAA is to mandate maintenance records checks on several Boeing aircraft types to identify and replace over 300 improperly repaired main landing gear (MLG) assemblies, with the need for replacements estimated at around $500,000.
The issue of improperly repaired MLG assemblies was linked to a 767 gear collapse incident involving an Omni Air International flight in August 2020 during landing at Bucharest Aurel Vlaicu airport.
The MLG cylinder failure was attributed to damage caused during a 2015 overhaul, stemming from overheating in the base metal due to an inner diameter grinding machine operating outside its parameters.
The investigation identified a total of 331 MLG assemblies that could be affected, spanning Boeing aircraft models such as the 737, 747, 757, and 767, with 40 of them potentially impacted and lacking follow-up non-destructive inspections. Recommendations include analysis by Boeing and FAA of the probe findings for necessary in-service fleet actions. The FAA’s NPRM is based on the 767 ARB and a related service bulletin.
Boeing said in a statement last February: The MRO identified a suspect population of MLG outer cylinders on 737, 747, 757, and 767 airplanes that may have also been affected and provided this information to the FAA and Boeing
