FAA with AD on Boeing fuel valves - Curt Lewis

FAA orders checks on fuel valves in Boeing planes

Boeing aircraft at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ordered checks on fuel valves on a wide range of Boeing aircraft to ensure they are safe and replace affected valves that could cause possible fuel tank explosions.

The order, or airworthiness directive, is effective April 5 and involves Boeing's 737, 757, 767 and 777 jets.

The FAA estimated that the new directive would affect 2,140 airplanes in the United States.

An airworthiness directive is a legally enforceable regulation issued by the FAA to correct an unsafe condition in an aircraft, engine or propeller.

The new directive resulted from fuel system reviews conducted by the planemaker, the FAA said on Tuesday.