WCA July 2011

From the americas

Statue of Liberty Image from BigStockPhoto.com Photographer: Marty

after the episode, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines flying those planes to check for cracks at 30,000 cycles. The six planes were delivered from 1994 to 1996. Boeing, in a statement, said it would not speculate about the cause of the incident, but that “[We] remain fully engaged with the investigation.” ❖ There were several reports of problems with miswired or misassembled planes in the US in the 1990s. Nor is the development of cracks around rivets as airplanes age new to the aviation industry. In April 1988 an Aloha Airlines plane en-route from Hilo to Honolulu, in Hawaii, “peeled open almost like a sardine can,” recalled the Tribune reporters. But, they wrote, “That plane had 89,000 takeoffs and landings.” Discovery of a location-tracking feature on Apple and Google smartphones prompts a legislator to raise the alarm in Congress “We need a major hearing that blows the lid off the lack of security and privacy within these phones,” Rep Edward Markey told the Boston Herald . “I think this is not just a problem with Apple, but a problem that exists throughout the entire industry.” A demand for congressional action from Mr Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat and ranking member of the House telecommunications sub-committee, came on the heels of revelations of a hidden location-tracking feature contained in the Apple iOS4 operating system on iPhones and iPads, as well as in devices using Google’s Android. The programs appear to collect information about the user’s every move, storing it in a secret file that can be transmitted to a computer or another device. The unencrypted tracking program on the Apple devices was discovered by British researchers, who found that data was sent to unsecured servers throughout the day. As noted by the Herald’s Jessica Van Sack, location-based technology is key to the evolution of smartphones, which bank on the programs to enable hot mobile apps such as Yelp and Mapquest. But, she wrote: “The notion that mobile phone companies are tracking customers regardless of whether an app is running – and holding on to the data for extended periods – had privacy advocates seething.” (“Representative Ed Markey Hung Up on Privacy,” 23 rd April). When the story broke, Google (Mountain View, California) acknowledged that Android phones collect location information for consumers who request it. But the company’s statement that any data sent back to Google location servers “is anonymised and is not tied or traceable to a specific user” seemed intended to play down the spyware inference. Apple (Cupertino, California) maintained silence; but Mr Markey on 21 st April wrote to Steven P Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, demanding answers. Telecom and Technology

Trouble on a 737

Misaligned rivet holes are found on the Boeing jet that peeled open during a West Coast flight in April US federal investigators on 25 th April announced the discovery of faulty riveting in the roof of a Southwest Airlines plane that tore open during a 1 st April flight from Phoenix, Arizona, to Sacramento, California. In its interim report, the National Transportation Safety Board said that a laboratory examination of intact sections of the roof found rivet holes on one layer of the plane’s skin that did not line up accurately with an underlying layer. Another finding by the board was bleed-through of paint from the exterior of the plane into the inside. In the International Herald Tribune , Matthew L Wald (reporting from Washington) and Jad Mouawad (in New York) noted the view of experts that this suggests an improperly bound aluminium skin, leading to premature damage from fatigue. (“Rivet Flaw Suspected in Jet’s Roof,” 25 th April). The board will probably not publish its conclusions about the cause of the rupture, which occurred at 34,000 feet, for some months. But outside experts consulted by the Herald Tribune said that the 15-year-old Boeing 737 probably left the factory with flaws. ❖ “It means the assembly was wrong, it means the wrong tools were used, it means they were careless in drilling the holes, and maybe the drill was dull,” said John J Goglia, an aircraft maintenance expert who is a former member of the safety board. If the rivet holes on the two pieces of aluminium being fastened together did not line up, that would mean they were egg-shaped instead of round, Mr Goglia said. As two such pieces are pulled in opposite directions when a plane is pressurised and depressurised, round holes would spread the forces evenly around the circumference of the hole. But if the hole is egg-shaped, he said, “they’re concentrated in one spot.” ❖ Robert W Mann Jr, an aviation industry expert in Port Washington, New York, observed that such flaws are unusual. He said: “The key issue is whether this was systemic.” He then inquired: “Why weren’t the parts rejected?” Mr Mann was also concerned about the paint. “These are not small defects [from] wicking of the liquids,” he said. “Paint is not thin. It is pretty substantial.” Additionally, he said, if the parts are not perfectly shaped on arrival at the assembly plant “that creates the necessity to redrill, which creates ovalisation” leading to wear on the parts. ❖ The Herald Tribune said that the safety board would also examine five other Southwest planes found to have cracks. Those five, and the one that ripped open, had all flown about 40,000 cycles of takeoffs and landings. After the incident in flight, Boeing said it did not expect this model of its 737 to require inspection before at least 60,000 cycles. In an emergency order issued days

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Wire & Cable ASIA – July/August 2011