Bombardier Inc. (4.46-0.10-2.19%) says some of its Q400 planes need to be inspected as a precautionary measure after one airline found cracks near the turboprop aircraft's landing gear.
Bombardier said Monday that 74 per cent - 222 of the 300 planes in operation - needed to be inspected after one airline found cracks in the rear spar nacelle. The aircraft's main landing gear is attached to the nacelle, which is the cover that houses the engine.
“This part that is being inspected has nothing to do with the extension or retraction of the main landing gear system,” spokesman John Arnone said in an interview.
He said about 60 per cent of the aircraft have been inspected since Bombardier first issued a service bulletin in April, followed by another in July. The Q400 entered service in 2000.
“This is a precautionary and prudent measure undertaken by Bombardier and its customers,” Mr. Arnone said.
Australia's Qantas Airways grounded five of the 21 Q400s operated by regional airline QantasLink after low-cost British carrier Flybe raised concerns about the fittings on its fleet of Q400s.
Qantas told local media that it would take three to four weeks for the work to be completed on the five planes, which are its oldest Bombardiers.
It said two teams of engineers from Bombardier would come from Europe to repair any cracking.
Mr. Arnone said he's not aware of other airlines removing their planes from service while the company conducts inspections.
He said the aircraft remain safe and the potential problem is unrelated to incidents in 2007 that resulted in emergency landings in Denmark and Lithuania.
The emergency landings by Scandinavian Airlines planes were subsequently found to be caused by the corrosion of a bolt that prevented the landing gear from locking. Mr. Arnone said the bolts and the nacelles are made by two different manufacturers.
The airline removed its fleet of Q400s from service following the second crash in October, 2007.
Toronto-based Porter Airlines said its fleet of almost two dozen Q400 aircraft has been given a clean bill of health after it conducted precautionary inspections.
“All of our aircraft now have been inspected and are considered safe to operate,” chief executive officer Robert Deluce said in an interview.
“We have not found any issues that were highlighted in the inspection itself and our fleet seems to not be affected in any way.”
As one of the largest operators of the Q400s, Porter has a lot at stake with any concerns about the safety of the aircraft. Mr. Deluce said he has full confidence in the plane and hopes to add 10 more of the aircraft to the 20 it now operates over the coming years.
“It's an airplane that we consider to be highly reliable and certainly has done a very good job for Porter,” he said, noting that everyone is being very proactive to address inspections.
Mr. Deluce called the SAS issue a “red herring” since the problems were confined largely to its fleet and caused mainly by that airline's maintenance issues than any systematic problems with the plane.
He noted that SAS turned around and purchased newer Next Generation versions of the same aircraft after grounding its fleet.
Meanwhile, U.S.-based Frontier Airlines said it will retain three Q400 turboprops to service flights in Colorado, including to Aspen. The subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings Inc. had planned remove the fleet but a separate lease arrangement apparently fell through.