4 Apr 2011

Boeings checked regularly, says Air NZ

9:05 pm on 4 April 2011

The Civil Aviation Authority and Air New Zealand are not taking immediate action after a malfunction on a Boeing 737-300 caused an emergency landing in the United States.

The fuselage of a Southwest Airlines jet ripped open when the it was flying at almost 11,000 metres, causing the cabin to lose pressure on Friday.

It was forced to land in Arizona and evidence of widespread fuselage cracks and fatigue have been found on the plane.

Southwest has grounded 79 planes while it works with Boeing to find the source of the problem.

The Civil Aviation Authority and Air New Zealand say they will not be taking any action unless Boeing identifies a problem with planes in New Zealand.

Air New Zealand says it has 15 planes that are 737-300s, all of which have regular maintenence checks.