AIRLINES are to be forced to introduce a raft of new checks on their older aircraft to ensure they are free of potentially dangerous faults. But individual aircraft manufacturers will be left to decide what those checks should be, and critics warn they will not be frequent enough.
A ruling from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that comes into force in March 2003 will require extensive extra checks to be made on all American airliners over 14 years old. A similar ruling is being considered by the Joint Aviation Authorities, the umbrella body that coordinates air safety across 36…
