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 to address critical issues with the wing spars.
This AD was prompted by the discovery of a complete separation in one wing's front spar lower fitting and cracking in the equivalent joint on the other wing, which could lead to loss of control.
It mandates inspections of the wing terminal-to-spar chord joints and repair if necessary, affecting the few remaining airworthy B-17s, which had already been voluntarily grounded by their operators.
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.
CREATE A FREE ACCOUNT
Sign up to keep reading
Create a free account to continue. Already a member? Sign in below.
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.
