SIA, SilkAir not affected by US directive for checks on all Boeing 737s
Related News  US orders emergency checks of Boeing 737s after Japan accident SINGAPORE: Owners of Boeing 737s worldwide have received an emergency directive to inspect key wing hardware by the US Federal Aviation Administration.
The move came after an explosion on a China Airlines plane in Japan about a week ago.
In that incident, all 165 passengers and crew escaped to safety, sliding down emergency chutes just before the Boeing 737-800 exploded into flames.
Owners and operators of the six series of the plane have been given 24 days to inspect the wing slat assemblies of the aircraft.
This is due to suspicions that a bolt on the China Airlines passenger jet came loose and ruptured a fuel tank, starting the fire.
More than 2,000 planes currently in service around the world are expected to be affected.
In Singapore, both Singapore Airlines and SilkAir are unaffected as they have no B737s in their fleets.
- CNA/so
The burnt-out wreckage of the aircraft. 
The United States Federal Aviation Administration has issued an emergency Airworthiness Directive to all owners and operators of certain Next Generation Boeing 737s to inspect their aircraft in light of recent developments in the investigation of the recent China Airlines explosion.

An example of a Boeing 737 in commercial operation
The measures have been imposed due to the discovery that a structural bolt in the aircraft that exploded had come loose and punched a hole in the aircraft's right wing fuel tank.

It is thought the bolt came loose after a worker failed to replace a washer after a routine maintenance procedure several months prior to the accident.

Boeing spokesman Jim Proulx said "This was determined to be an issue of flight safety... It's very, very important."

Operators must complete an initial inspection of the wing slat assemblies of the affected aircraft in ten days, and must ensure the fasteners are properly torqued within 24 days. They must then repeat the inspections every 3,000 flight cycles thereafter. The directive is believed to affect over 2,000 aircraft worldwide.