J-Air Corp., a passenger airline wholly owned by Japan Airlines Co., flew some of its aircraft for half a year without inspections being carried out on engine-related parts, JAL officials said Wednesday.
The group carrier is conducting an emergency inspection on three Bombardier CRJ200 jets in its fleet, forcing 23 flights linking such airports as Osaka and Aomori to be canceled for the day, affecting about 800 passengers, they said.
According to JAL, the components used to attach the engines to the fuselage should have undergone an inspection six months ago. Company regulations require the first such inspection about seven years after the aircraft's introduction.
The three planes never went through the examination. They made between 1,580 and 2,178 flights during the six-month period without the required inspection.
The airline is investigating why it failed to conduct the inspection. Six other CRJ200s in its fleet are unaffected, the officials said.