Federal regulators on Monday ordered inspections for hundreds of Boeing jetliners over potential problems with wing de-icing systems, certain planes' main landing gear and the oxygen masks used by passengers.None of the three airworthiness directives were deemed to pose an immediate safety hazard as the Federal Aviation Administration gave the airlines years to comply with each of them. A separate order affecting certain Airbus planes also does not mandate immediate action.
But the latest directives come during a period of unprecedented scrutiny on airline maintenance records that already has forced hundreds of planes to be grounded and thousands of travelers to be inconvenienced, most recently by extra inspections on many jets flown by AMR Corp.'s American Airlines.
The new order affecting the most planes includes repetitive inspections and the possible replacement of main landing gear components on older Boeing 737s used by Delta Air Lines Inc., Continental Airlines Inc., Southwest Airlines, UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and other carriers. It resulted from reports of cracking of certain parts that could damage or jam flight control cables and result in loss of control of the airplane, according to the government.
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