Skip navigation
sponsored by 

China Air jet found with fracture in fuselage

Japanese airport workers discover 28-inch hairline crack near tail of plane

Image: Investigating 737-800
Japanese and U.S. investigators including Boeing officials, inspect the burned-out engine of Taiwan's China Airlines 737-800 jet liner that exploded after landing at the Naha airport in Japan's southern island of Okinawa, on Aug. 23. On Thursday, airport workers in Japan found a 28-inch fracture in the fuselage of a similar China Airlines Boeing 737-800.
Str / AFP - Getty Images
  Top slideshows
Image: The Empire State Building at night
Getty Images
  The Big Apple
Long referred to as the center of American business, New York is a melting pot of cultures and landscapes. Take a visual tour of some of the Big Apple’s most famous attractions.
Image: Waimea Canyon, Kauai
Lonely Planet Images
  Hawaiian paradise
The Hawaiian Islands are the perfect vacation destination for travelers of all types.
Image: Mount Rainier National Park
Lonely Planet Images
  National spectacles
Nearly 400 national parks can be found all across America, and feature breathtaking vistas, rock formations millions of years old, and more.
  Related stories  
  What’s this?
updated 3:28 p.m. ET Sept. 21, 2007

TOKYO - Airport workers in western Japan found a 28-inch fracture in the fuselage of a China Airlines Boeing 737-800 weeks after a similar plane flown by the company exploded at another Japanese airport, an official said Friday.

China Airlines maintenance workers discovered the hairline crack near the tail of the jet during a routine post-flight inspection Thursday afternoon at Saga Airport on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu, Transport Ministry official Rui Mitsuma said. Japanese aviation officials launched an investigation, Mitsuma said.

The fracture was found about 30 minutes before the plane's scheduled departure for a return trip to Taiwan's capital, a China Airlines spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity, citing company policy.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad here

The airline sent another plane from Taipei to pick up the flight's 49 passengers, who more than five hours behind schedule Thursday evening, she said.

Click for related content
Asia's air safety under scrutiny

On Aug. 20, a China Airlines Boeing 737-800 that landed at Okinawa's Naha airport exploded in a fireball at a gate seconds after all 157 passengers and eight crew safely evacuated. Investigators found a bolt on the right wing slat had come loose and pierced a fuel tank, causing fuel to gush out and catch fire.

Boeing officials could not immediately be reached for comment.


Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

  MORE FROM NEWS  
  
News Section Front
 
Add News headlines to your news reader:
 

Resource guide