The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday ordered emergency inspections of some of Raytheon's Beechcraft commuter planes for possible wing cracks.

The visual inspections of wing spars were ordered for Beechcraft models 1900, 1900C and 1900D before the aircraft can resume flying, the FAA said.

The plane can carry up to 19 passengers and about 250 of them are in use, mostly by regional commuter airlines such as Air Midwest, Central Mountain Air and Great Lakes Aviation.

The FAA said it was informed of cracks found in the wings of two Beechcraft 1900 planes during routine maintenance. Such cracks are an unsafe condition that could lead to "the wing separating from the airplane with consequent loss of control," the agency said.

The FAA said it would use data collected during the emergency inspections to determine what additional actions may be needed.

The Beechcraft 1900 series, a propeller aircraft introduced in the 1980s, is being phased out by some airlines to be replaced by jet-powered planes.

On January 8, 2003, a Beechcraft 1900 crashed in Charlotte, North Carolina, due to a problem with an elevator control system, killing both pilots and all 19 passengers.