Newsday (New York), "United Finds A Flaw in Tail; Special inspection of 3 Airbus jets"

          An ultrasonic inspection by United Airlines this month on the tail of one of its Airbus planes uncovered a tiny defect in the composite material, prompting the carrier to consider more stringent maintenance requirements.
          The special inspection of three Airbus planes in the United fleet comes after the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in Queens last month.
          Less than a week after the Nov. 11 crash of the Airbus 300-600, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered special inspections on the tails of the nation's A300-600s, but required only visual inspections. United decided to use ultrasound on the tails of the three of its 128 Airbus planes that had minor defects in manufacturing, just as the American Airlines plane that crashed had.