Southwest

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    Southwest Flight Returns to Chicago Midway Airport

    southwestnySouthwest Airlines Flight 321 had to return and make an emergency landing at Chicago Midway International Airport, at about 1:35 p.m. on September 16.

    The flight was on its way to LaGuardia Airport when shortly after taking off, an engine warning light turned on in the cockpit. The pilots then decided to return to Chicago for an emergency landing.

    The aircraft landed safely and all 118 passengers aboard remained unharmed.

    The passengers were accommodated in other flights.

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    Southwest Airlines flight Makes Priority Landing at Milwaukee

    southwest_airlines_logoSouthwest Airlines flight 663 on its way from Orlando, Florida, to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, made a priority landing at about 10:18 a.m. on August 17.

    The pilot declared emergency just before landing at Milwaukee, after the crew reported an electrical smell onboard.

    The plane carrying 127 passengers and 5 crew members landed uneventfully and no one was hurt.

    The aircraft was taken for examination while an alternate plane was arranged for continuing the next flight to Los Angeles.

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    Southwest Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Ohio

    southwest_airlines_logoThe Southwest Airlines flight 424, from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport to Chicago Midway International Airport, had to divert and land in emergency at Port Columbus International Airport, Ohio, at 2 a.m. Central Time on July 23.

    The pilot decided to make an emergency landing after there was an indication of smoke in the forward cargo hold.

    The plane landed safely and slides were used to evacuate the 49 passengers on board. No one was hurt.

    The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating. Southwest Airlines has declared the plane out of service for inspection.

    An alternate was flight arranged for taking the passengers to their destination.

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    Southwest Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Iowa

    southwest_airlines_logoSouthwest Airlines Flight 3809 on its way from Minneapolis-St. Paul airport to Denver, had to divert and make an emergency landing at Sioux City airport in Iowa, at about 2:40 p.m. on June 29.

    The decision to divert and make an emergency landing was made after the pilot noticed a power warning light flashing in the cockpit.

    The Boeing 737, with 143 passengers and 5 crew members aboard, then landed without incident after remaining in the air for about 90 minutes.

    Southwest spokeswoman Michelle Agnew said that the pilot adopted a cautious route although the situation was not that dire.

    Sioux City airport operations manager John Backer said that the passengers were provided a replacement plane to resume the journey after waiting for three hours in the lounge.

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    Southwest Airlines Receives Threat; Flight 362 Makes Emergency Landing in Indianapolis

    southwest_airlines_logoA Southwest Airlines Flight made an emergency landing at the Indianapolis International Airport on Thursday April 17.

    According to Carlo Bertolini, the spokesperson of Indianapolis Airport, flight 362 was headed from Baltimore to Indianapolis. The decision for emergency landing was made after Southwest Airlines received a threat. The plane made an uneventful landing at about 3:10 pm and all 138 passengers and 5 crew members were safely evacuated.

    Bertolini further said that the airport personnel cleared the plane and passenger luggage after a thorough check up.

    The Southwest Airlines released a statement saying that they could not discuss the details of the threat.

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    Passenger Decides to Open Exit Door Mid-Air: Southwest Airlines Flight 722 Makes Emergency Landing at Nebraska

    UntitledJoshua Carl Lee Suggs, 23, a man from Sacramento, tried to open the rear exit door of the Southwest Airlines airplane flying from Chicago’s Midway Airport to Sacramento on April 13. The captain made an emergency landing in Omaha, Nebraska.

    Airport police arrested and escorted Suggs after landing. Federal officials said he could face charges of interference with flight crew members and attendants. This is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, or both. He will be presented in Omaha court on April 16.

    The flight 722 carrying 134 passengers and 5 crew members arrived in Sacramento two hours behind the schedule after removing the unruly passenger at Nebraska.

    The other passengers reported that Suggs was acting strangely even before he tried to open the door and jump out of the plane. He emerged soaking wet from the bathroom of the plane at one point. He appeared to be under the influence of drugs or psychotic. He was physically overpowered by other male passengers of the plane on the request of the crew members.

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    Southwest #762 Diverts to Boise

    While en route from Seattle to Phoenix, a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 flight 762 suffered a cracked windshield. Pilots made an emergency landing in Boise at Gowen Field. The plane went to maintenance, and the 143 passengers had to wait for another flight to get to Phoenix.

    The cabin never lost air pressure but had to dump fuel to make a safe landing.

    FOX 10 News | myfoxphoenix.com

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    Southwest Flight Lands at Wrong Airport; Pilots Suspended

    The pilots who flew flight 4013 (Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700) and landed at the wrong airport nine miles from the correct airport on Sunday have been suspended. Yes, they landed safely but at the wrong airport. Hello. The PIC and copilot have a combined flight experience of twenty-six years. Guess they weren’t (as the video says) “paying attention.”

    Nothing for the passengers to worry their pretty little heads about.
    Please note the above line is sarcasm.

    Southwest Airlines said:

    “The Southwest Airlines Pilot in command of flight #4013 safely landed at (PLK) Taney County airport this evening. The Boeing 737-700 carried 124 Customers and a crew of five and was operating as a scheduled flight from Chicago Midway to Branson.

    Our ground crew from the Branson airport has arrived at the airport to take care of our Customers and their baggage. The landing was uneventful, and all Customers and Crew are safe.”

    The runway was half as long as normal, the plane stopping three hundred feet short of the drop off at the runway’s end.

    The PIC was cleared to land at Branson, right before it nailed the landing at M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport.

    So we’re all waiting for the investigation to hear the answers to why it happened, why the co-pilot didn’t catch the mistake (or maybe he did?), if confusion between Branson and Southwest is a common thing, and all those other questions that come up.

    See Videos Below

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    FAA Proposes $325,000 Civil Penalty Against Southwest Airlines


    The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a $325,000 civil penalty against Dallas-based Southwest Airlines for allegedly operating an aircraft that had been improperly modified, violating Federal Aviation Regulations.

    On Aug. 29, 2011, maintenance personnel improperly installed a switch that enables flight crews to test the windshield heating system on a Boeing 717 that AirTran Airways Inc. was operating. Southwest is in the process of merging with AirTran.

    Proper installation of the switch would have allowed personnel to isolate the windshield anti-ice system that was causing a warning that the windshield heater was failing. Instead, the center and left windshield warning systems were reversed. The right windshield warning system continued to operate properly. The aircraft was operated on 1,140 passenger flights before the problem was corrected.

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    Southwest Emergency Landing

    A Southwest Boeing 737-700 en route from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to Fort Lauderdale made a safe landing at William P Hobby Airport in Houston after developing cabin pressure problems.

    None of the 140 passengers were injured. Flight 2896 made a safe landing the evening of October 9, 2013.

    Passengers were provided an alternate flight to Fort Lauderdale.

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    Southwest Airlines Boeing Bird Strike

    A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 en route from Raleigh Durham to Chicago suffered a bird strike after takeoff.

    The right engine lost power. Pilots shut down the engine.

    Pilots made a safe landing in Raleigh Durham with emargency services on standby.

    No injuries were reported. A alternative Southwest flight was provided for passengers.

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    NTSB Issues Investigative Update into Southwest Flight 345 Accident

    The National Transportation Safety Board today released factual information from the July 22 accident involving a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. The airplane’s front landing gear collapsed on landing.

    • Evidence from video and other sources is consistent with the nose-gear making contact with the runway before the main landing gear.

    • The flight data recorder on the airplane recorded 1,000 parameters and contained approximately 27 hours of recorded data, including the entire flight from Nashville to New York.

    • The cockpit voice recorder contains a two-hour recording of excellent quality that captures the entire flight from Nashville to New York and the accident landing sequence.

    • Flaps were set from 30 to 40 degrees about 56 seconds prior to touchdown.

    • Altitude was about 32 feet, airspeed was about 134 knots, and pitch attitude was about 2 degrees nose-up approximately 4 seconds prior touchdown.

    • At touchdown, the airspeed was approximately 133 knots and the aircraft was pitched down approximately 3 degrees.

    • After touchdown, the aircraft came to a stop within approximately 19 seconds.

    • A cockpit voice recorder group will convene tomorrow at NTSB laboratories in Washington to transcribe the relevant portion of the accident flight.

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    Southwest NoseGear Collapse July 22 Update


    Investigators are still working to determine the problem why the landing gear of Southwest Airlines Flight 345 collapsed while the plane was landing in New York on Monday.

    Input and coverage continues below:

    See Videos

    • Nose Gear Collapse ‘Humongous Jolt’

    • CBS 2 minutes 9 seconds

    • Details from Los Angeles Times 1 min 13 seconds

    • Raw footage 11 seconds

    SOUTHWEST AIRLINES FLIGHT 345 BOEING 737 AIRCRAFT LANDED AND THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED, PASSENGERS EVACUTED VIA CHUTES ONTO THE RUNWAY AND WERE BUSSED TO THE TERMINAL. 8 PERSONS ON BOARD SUSTAINED UNKNOWN INJURIES, LAGUARDIA AIRPORT, NEW YORK, NY

    Date: 22-JUL-13
    Time: 21:45:00Z
    Regis#: N753SW/SWA345
    Aircraft Make: BOEING
    Aircraft Model: 737
    Event Type: Incident
    Highest Injury: Unknown
    Aircraft Missing:
    Damage: Unknown
    LOCATION
    City: NEW YORK
    State: New York

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    Southwest Airlines Diverts due to Flaps Flops

    On July 23, 2013, a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 en route from Kansas City to Indianapolis developed a problem with the flaps.

    Pilots diverted back to Kansas City and made an emergency landing. (See flight path below)

    None of the 54 aboard suffered injury.

    The flight eventually took off and arrived in Indianapolis at 1 a.m. with no indication if this was the same or a different jet.

    * Flight Path:

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    Southwest Airlines Boeing Nosegear Collapses in NY


    On July 22, 2013, a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 en route from Nashville,TN to La Guardia was making a landing when the nose gear collapsed.

    Five passengers and 3 crew were injured on the slides and hospitalized.

    There were 144 passengers and 6 crew aboard.

    A passenger described landing as “a bang and a bounce and then just a slam on the brakes and then it was a skidding”

    The airline confirmed a nose gear collapse, 5 passengers and 3 cabin crew reported injuries and were taken care of by local responders.

    Video Below

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    Southwest Airlines Emergency landing at Kansas City International Airport

    On July 9, 2013 at 9 a.m., a Southwest Airlines flight en route from Baltimore’s BWI Marshall Airport to Las Vegas with 174 passengers, and 6 crew aboard developed engine trouble. The right engine developed a leak.

    Pilots diverted to Kansas City International Airport where they made a safe landing.

    Good job pilots. Safe landing. No injuries.

    In George’s Point of View

    I’ve said it before and likely will say it again. Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance.

    Commercial planes are up and down all day long. It’s constant.

    Problems with these planes are just a matter of time. There must be absolute iron-clad maintenance and inspection that is equally as aggressive as the operator that wants their entire fleet in the air all the time.

    You know the old adage:
    For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
    For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
    For want of a horse the rider was lost.
    For want of a rider the message was lost.
    For want of a message the battle was lost.
    For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
    And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

    Think of how easily this applies to a plane.

    For want of a maintenance check a washer was lost
    For want of a washer the oil was lost.
    For want of the oil, an engine was lost.
    For want of an engine, the pilot was lost.
    For want of the pilot, the plane was lost.
    For want of the plane, the passengers were lost.
    And all for want of a maintenance check.

    So…I wasn’t really expecting to say it again so soon:

    Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance.

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    Southwest Flight Diverts to Indiana

    A Southwest Airlines Baltimore to Las Vegas flight 441 (Boeing 737-700) diverted to Indiana when an electric odor developed in the galley.

    Pilots made a safe landing in Indiana at 8:45 pm. No fire was found.

    None of the 134 aboard were injured.

    The Southwest 441 flight was rescheduled.

    On March 14, a Southwest flight out of Las Vegas had a faulty cargo fire indication which caused them to return to Las Vegas for an emergency Landing.

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    Southwest Airlines Safe Landing after Indicator Alert Error

    Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 Flight 481 from Las Vegas to Tulsa made an emergency landing at McCarran International Airport.

    The flight diverted back after a cargo hold fire-alert alerted the crew. The flight had left at 1:20, and returned at 2:45. Passengers indicated turbulence as they were returning to Las Vegas. The crew did not explain the situation to the passengers until after landing.

    136 passengers and four crew were aboard. No one was injured. THe problem was an indication alert error. Passengers were rebooked on alternative flights.

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    Smoke in 737 Cockpit; Pilots divert to Tulsa. (updated)

    On January 21, 2012, a Southwest Airlines 737 with 76 passengers and five crew aboard was en route from Kansas to Houston when it developed smoke in the cockpit.

    Pilots diverted to Tulsa and made a safe landing (but probably hard and fast since reportedly three tires blew) with emergency services on standby at about 9:15 a.m.. No injuries were reported. Passengers were provided alternative transport to Houston.

    The plane has been removed from service and will be inspected in Tulsa.

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    Southwest Airlines Long Island Flight Delayed

    On December 27, 2012, a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 was navigating the Islip Long Island tarmac when it went off the pavement into ground and got stuck.

    None of the 129 passengers aboard were injured. Passengers exited to the tarmac and were bussed to the gate where they were provided with alternative flights.

    The plane is undergoing inspections.

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    Southwest Airlines Emergency Landing

    December 25, 2012, a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 en route from Denver to Kansas City International diverted to Omaha and made a safe landing at Omaha’s Eppley Airfield. None of the 109 passengers and five crew members were injured.

    The plane developed a fuel valve problem while en route.

    Passengers were provided an alternative vehicle.

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    Southwest Emergency Landing in San Diego

    What: Southwest Airlines 737 Flight 3252 en route from from San Diego to Baltimore
    Where: Lindbergh Field
    When: Dec 1, 2012, 7:15 a.m.
    Who: 129 passengers, 5 crew
    Why: As the plane was taking off, a flight attendant smelled smoke. The pilot returned to San Diego and made an emergency landing on Lindbergh Field. Oxygen masks were deployed but there were no injuries.

    The plane was slated for inspection and will be removed from service until the issue is solved.

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    Bird Strike in Hartford

    What: Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 en route from Tampa to Hartford
    Where: Bradley International Airport, Connecticut
    When: Oct 3, 2012
    Who: 130 people aboard
    Why: After Southwest Airlines Flight 2102 suffered a bird strike on the right side of the plane on approach to Bradley International Airport, the pilot made a safe landing.

    The crew described hearing a “loud bang” on approach.

    The bird strike was not confirmed during the flyby but afterwards during inspection.

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    Southwest Airlines Reno Flight Diverted Due to Smoke

    What: Southwest Airlines Boeing en route from Oakland to Reno
    Where: Oakland
    When: August 28, 2012
    Who: 119 passengers
    Why: Southwest Flight 2899 took off but moments later at about 9:30 a.m., a flight attendant smelled smoke.

    Pilots diverted the flight back to Oakland and made a safe landing. Fire and rescue crews were on standby.

    In George’s Point of View


    You have heard this before, but…
    Maintenance! Maintenance! Maintenance!

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    Southwest SF to Denver Emergency Landing

    What: Southwest Airways Boeing 737 en route from San Francisco to Denver
    Where: Oakland
    When: August 28, 2012 7:48 a.m.
    Who: 143 passengers
    Why: The flight made an emergency landing at Oakland due to cabin pressurization problems. Fire and rescue crews were on standby.

    Passengers were provided another flight which arrived in Denver two hours late.

    In George’s Point of View


    Maintenance! Maintenance! Maintenance!