National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has grounded a Boeing 737 NG and Sriwijaya Air has grounded two planes of the same type after inspectors found cracks in the pickle forks of the aircraft.

The inspection was carried out following the issuance of an airworthiness directive by the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), asking operators to conduct inspections on Boeing 737 NG type aircraft with more than 30,000 flight cycles (takeoffs and landings).

The airworthiness directive was issued after Boeing discovered cracks in pickle forks of a number of its Boeing 737 NGs. The pickle fork refers to the part of the aircraft that attaches the main fuselage of the plane to its wing structure, playing a key role in maintaining and managing the force of the aircraft.

“There are three Boeing 737 NGs in our fleet that have reached 30,000 flight cycles. Garuda decided to ground one of them on Oct. 5 after we found [was is suspected to be] cracks in the pickle forks,” said Garuda Indonesia vice president/corporate secretary Ikhsan Rosan on Tuesday.

Ikhsan said Garuda was communicating with Boeing as the aircraft manufacturer on the findings.

Meanwhile, Sriwijaya Air quality, safety and security director Capt. Toto Soebandoro said the airline had grounded two of its Boeing 737 NGs after finding cracks in the pickle forks.

“We are still waiting for further information from Boeing regarding this,” he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

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