Boeing B-17G Superfortress "Shoo Shoo Baby" at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. The bomber has since been moved to the museum's restoration area where it will remain in storage until it is transferred to the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum. [Courtesy: U.S. Air Force]
Key Takeaways:
The FAA has issued an interim Airworthiness Directive (AD) for Boeing B-17E, F, and G models, addressing critical issues with wing spars.
The AD was prompted by the discovery of a completely separated left front spar lower fitting and a cracked equivalent joint on the right wing, posing an unsafe condition that could lead to loss of control.
It mandates specific inspections (magnetic particle or eddy current) of the wing terminal-to-spar chord joints and required repairs, with results to be submitted to the FAA.
The directive affects the remaining small fleet of B-17s, many of which had already been grounded by operators as a precautionary measure, and is intended to gather data for a long-term solution.
The much-anticipated airworthiness directive for Boeing B-17s has been released by the FAA. The AD addresses issues with the wing spars.
The warbird community has been aware of the potential issue for several weeks. The owners of the remaining airworthy B-17s had grounded their aircraft as a precaution.
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Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
