There are engines and there are planes

Inspectors find cracks on second Dreamliner engine

I want to hand to the inspectors, they have done their job.

Now, rather than crack the whip at Boeing, I think somebody needs to crack the whip at General Electric Aviation’s engine plant.

It was the engines, not the plane that didn’t function correctly, CNN, and those engines are not just in use on the new Boeing Dreamliner, but also on the latest model of the Boeing 747-8, which has four of them and they are in service in at least 10 more airlines. So, how many have cracks on the 747s. I mean we are talking about maybe 10 engines on the 787s and more than 40 on the 747s. So, it was not the airframe, so don’t blame the airframe.

OK, I used to write headlines for a living, and I know how a headline can screw up a story. But the headline and the story miss the story … which is GEAv has some engine problems again. Remember, GE? Whose CEO is a BFF to the president and supposedly didn’t pay a lick in corporate income taxes the other year? Not saying there is any connection. Just an interesting confluence of facts.

Another air oopsie – with CNN right on the spot.

American Airlines seems to be going into the ditch these days. It seems that another symbol of U.S. passenger flight is about to bite the dust. Now, not only does it have problems in bankruptcy court, it also has an ongoing problem with at least its pilots union.

This problem, apparently a row of seats became unanchored in flight on two different Boeing 757s, seems to be another problem for the airline to deal with.

Now, if I was a conspiracy minded fellow, I could see all sorts of links here, all of them lined up on the unions.

The 787 is assembled in South Carolina (a Right to Work state,) where the plant is not unionized and the union tried to get the National Labor Relations Board to force Boeing to unionize the plant or build it (after it was almost completed) in Seattle,. Washington, where the Boeing plants are unionized. That didn’t fly, but you can’t fault them for trying. Only problem is the engines are built in Cincinnati where the plant is unionized (Ohio being a big state for unions)

Now, you have two more Boeing planes with seats coming out of their bolts. MMM … now we could have the mechanics union working with the pilots union to make American look bad, or maybe they just want Boeing to look bad.

I’ve got it, they all are a bunch of Airbus plants trying to discredit the American aircraft industry. I told you, I am good at seeing conspiracies when they aren’t there.

Anyway, for what it is worth, you still are safer in a commercial airliner than you are on the ground .. even driving just to and from work or the store.