After the CEO of Boeing recently admitted the company made mistakes that led to the deadly crashes of the Boeing 737 Max..., Boeing has revealed another safety concern.
Its popular 737 Next Generation model has officially grounded because of a critical defect found in around 50 airplanes worldwide.
Our Choi Jeong-yoon reports.
The Boeing 737 Next Generation, or NG, is a precursor to the 737 MAX, which itself has been grounded since two deadly crashes this year in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
Boeing said Thursday that 5 percent of more than 11-hundred NGs that have been inspected worldwide were found to have cracks in the 'pickle fork,' a part that connects the body of the aircraft to the wing.
It said it will tell airlines not to operate those planes until they're repaired.
South Korea's transport ministry has confirmed, meanwhile, that Korea has grounded 9 planes, five of which are operated by Korean Air.
Australian carrier Qantas has grounded three planes that had completed more than 22,000 landings and take-offs.
However, defects were also found in more lightly used aircraft, leading to calls for Qantas to ground its entire 737 fleet.
"...if there is, then, a belief that with the low cycle aircraft that there could be these hairline cracks, the regulators around the world will decide that that inspection regime needs to be changed and we work within that system and all airlines do."
Meanwhile, as Boeing tries to get the 737 Max back in the air, American Airlines' flight attendants say they won't fly on it.
The airline's union of 28-thousand flight attendants sent a letter to Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg saying they refuse to work in what they called a "dangerous environment" and demanding all necessary information to determine when it's safe.
Boeing says it expects the 737 Max to be back in service by the end of this year.
Choi Jeong-yoon, Arirang News.