Engineers didn’t expect 737 cracks, damage
Published 12:01 am Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Boeing was surprised when a section of a Southwest jetliner’s fuselage ripped open in flight because the plane wasn’t old enough to be worrisome, a company official said Tuesday, as the airline cleared most of its older 737 planes to return to the skies. Five were found with the same kinds of cracks
suspected of causing the 5-foot-long hole to open as the jet cruised around 34,000 feet. The planes are being repaired, the airline said. Boeing engineers did not expect to see the cracks because they thought they had designed the joints that hold the 737-300s’ aluminum skin in place to be more robust. They believe the planes would not need inspections for at least 60,000 takeoffs and landings. The company hadn’t even issued inspection specifications because none of the planes involved were anywhere near that old. The Southwest jet was 15 years old and had logged 39,000 round trips.
Verizon settles claim for $93 million
Verizon Communications Inc. has paid $93.5 million to settle allegations that it overcharged the federal government, the Justice Department said Tuesday. The lawsuit was filed by Stephen Shea, a “whistleblower” in 2007, and alleged overbilling as far back as 1999, first by MCI Communications, and later by Verizon, which bought MCI in 2006. The lawsuit alleged that Verizon had billed the government for “tax-like” surcharges that it wasn’t entitled to impose, according to the law firm representing Shea. “This settlement concludes efforts by both parties to resolve this dispute amicably, without further litigation,” said Verizon spokesman Peter Lucht.
Judge overturns Apple jury order
A federal judge has overturned a federal jury’s order that Apple Inc. pay $625.5 million in damages for violating patents held by Mirror Worlds LLC, a small technology company. The decision dismisses one of the largest verdicts in a patent lawsuit. In October, a federal jury in Tyler determined Apple infringed on three Mirror Worlds patents, which cover several features on Apple’s Mac computers, iPhones and iPods. In his ruling, the judge said Mirror Worlds may have painted an appealing picture for the jury, but “failed to lay a solid foundation sufficient to support important elements it was required to establish under the law.”
Diamond to buy Pringles chips
Diamond Foods Inc. is buying Procter & Gamble Co.’s Pringles chips business in a $1.5 billion deal, the biggest in a string of acquisitions that have given the maker of Pop Secret popcorn and Kettle chips a growing share of the snack aisle. The deal also completes P&G’s exit from all its major food businesses. The maker of Tide and Pampers has sold off Folgers, Jif, Crisco and Sunny Delight in recent years. The Pringles deal is structured to create a new company under the Diamond Foods name. P&G shareholders will get about 57 percent of the combined company.
From Herald news services
