Passenger and cargo airlines want to stop or change the new aging aircraft rule designed to overhaul the management of structural fatigue, calling the proposed rule "premature and incomplete." In addition, last week's House Subcommittee on Aviation meeting discussed what critics of the aging aircraft rule are calling a gap since it does not include many aircraft used by smaller cargo carriers. (RAN, April 24. p.1)

"Unfortunately, the proposed rule is quite simply unjustified," said the Air Transport Association.

Reuters reports the program would require aircraft manufacturers and airlines to begin an inspection program aimed at older aircraft, such as the MD-80, and, ultimately to all aircraft as they grow older. The plan imposes as much as $360 million over 20 years said FAA, adding, the airlines would actually save money under the new rule but the Air Transport Association pegs that number closer to $3 billion. Federal Express called it overly complex. Others indicated that current practices are adequate and cautioned that any changes must be carefully considered.

The objections comes in the wake of a National Transportation Safety Board recommendation calling on FAA to require records reviews, aging aircraft inspections and supplemental inspections for Parts 121 and 135 aircraft older than the 1958 cut-off date of the aging aircraft rule. The recommendations (A-06-52) result from the crash last December of a 55- year-old Chalk's Ocean Airways Grumman G-72T Turbo Mallard Seaplane when the right wing sheared off in Miami, Fla. All 18 passengers and two crewmembers were killed. (RAN, July 31, p.6)