South Korea grounds 9 Boeing 737 NG planes after structural cracks detected

South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Friday said that it had grounded nine Boeing 737 NG planes after detecting structural cracks on the bodies of the aircraft.

"As of October 10, the examination of 42 airplanes has been completed. We detected cracks in nine airplanes, and have therefore banned them from flying until they have been repaired," Sputnik quoted the ministry as saying.

The ministry is inspecting 150 Boeing 737 NG aeroplanes following an order from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) earlier this month, which directed aircraft operators to inspect older Boeing 737 NGs for structural cracks on the left and right-hand side suspension system of the aircraft, which connects the fuselage with the wings

The defected part, dubbed the pickle fork, was designed to safely handle 90,000 flight cycles, which is the total lifespan of a Boeing 737 NG.