Boeing Must Inspect Older 737 Jets After Indonesia Crash: US Aviation Regulator

All Boeing 737-300, -400 and -500 planes will need to be examined, a total of 143 aircraft, according to a document from the Federal Aviation Administration seen by AFP.

The US aviation regulator is ordering Boeing to inspect older generation 737 jets, after the January crash of an aircraft off Indonesia that killed 62 people. All Boeing 737-300, -400 and -500 planes will need to be examined, a total of 143 aircraft, according to a document from the Federal Aviation Administration seen by AFP on Saturday. A failure of the "flap synchro wire" missed by the autothrottle computer -- which manages the plane's thrust -- "could result in loss of control of the airplane," the document said. An interim report from Indonesian investigators in February said the doomed jet's throttles showed an "anomaly," though it said the cause of the crash was unclear.