The Air Force has grounded hundreds of KC-135 refueling planes until they are inspected for a potentially faulty part in the tail section, officials said this week.
The Air Force ordered the inspections Tuesday for a “non-conforming part in the vertical tail assembly,” according to the U.S. Air Force Materiel Command in a statement published on Wednesday. “The Time Compliance Technical Order restricts flight operations until the approximately 30-minute inspection is completed.”
As of Sunday, about 90 KC-135s have been inspected, the Air Force said, and 24 were found to have non-conforming pins. Planes that were inspected and had the proper pins are now flying again, it said. Officials are also checking variants of the plane, including the RC-135 and W-135 aircraft….