Back to home page737 Storage

Home > Tech Photos > Storage

Contents

Illustrated technical information covering Vol 2 Over 800 multi-choice systems questions Close up photos of internal and external components Illustrated history and description of all variants of 737 Databases and reports of all the major 737 accidents & incidents History and Development of the Boeing 737 - MAX General flightdeck views of each generation of 737's Technical presentations of 737 systems by Chris Brady Detailed tech specs of every series of 737 A collection of my favourite photographs that I have taken of or from the 737 Press reports of orders and deliveries Details about 737 production methods A compilation of links to other sites with useful 737 content Study notes and technical information A compilation of links to major 737 news stories with a downloadable archive A quick concise overview of the pages on this site

spacer

The Coronavirus pandemic has brought to light some of the issues relating to the very low utilisation of the B737 fleet and the published storage requirements from Boeing. Initially the short-term parking requirements for all B737-300/400/500/600/700/800/900 aircraft came into play if the aircraft had not flown for 7 days. Some of these requirements were quite demanding for operators with large fleets with tasks such as extended engine runs and preservation lubrication tasks. If the aircraft is not operated for 30 days, the aircraft is to be placed into long term storage with an even bigger maintenance burden.

However shortly after the beginning of the first lockdown in March 2020, Boeing agreed with operators a modified programme which allowed B737s to stay in active condition for up to 14 days before a flight was required. There are still some additional tasks to perform, but these are now minimal.

Most operators who have 737s in storage are now either placing them in long term storage or carrying out a maintenance check flight (usually just a radar vectored circuit) or positioning aircraft around their maintenance bases once per 14 days to reduce the maintenance burden and provide flight crew with some recency.

The introduction of FAA AD 2020-16-51 on 23 July 2020 which applies to all 737CL & NG's, now requires operators to inspect the 5th stage bleed-air check valve on each engine for condition and operation. The FAA said that: “If this valve opens normally at takeoff power, it may become stuck in the open position during flight and fail to close when power is reduced at top of descent, resulting in an unrecoverable compressor stall and the inability to restart the engine,”

Following the initial inspection, operators are to carry our repeat inspections if the aircraft have not flown for 7 days or more. Consequently, some operators are now performing maintenance check flights each 7 days to remove the need for the repeat inspections.
See more details about the book

All of the information, photographs & schematics from this website and much more is now available in a 374 page printed book or in electronic format.

*** Updated 05 Aug 2023 ***

The 737 Tech Site on Facebook The 737 Tech Site on Twitter The 737 Tech Site on Instagram

Boeing 737 in deep storage

A Boeing 737-300 in deep storage. Notice the extra taping of all openings and orifices. The cable coming from the blanked-off forward passenger window is an electrical to power a dehumidifier in the cabin. Boeing give you the option of using a dehumidifier or removing the interior furnishings during long term storage.

Boeing 737 in storage

A Boeing 737-800 in storage
Footer block