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Southwest just reported that El Paso-Phoenix jet that landed at 9:30 p.m. in Phoenix with one engine did so because of an engine exhaust problem. Good for them for catching it.
This was certainly less of an issue that the April 1 2011 surprise, the fuselage rupture in the roof of the Southwest Phoenex-Sacramento flight. That fifteen year old plane lost pressure (kind of a given, one would think, with a huge hole in the roof) and had to make an emergency landing in Yuma, 150 miles southwest of Phoenix. There were no injuries except to Southwest’s reputation.
On April 4, the FAA sent out a letter mandating operators of specific early Boeing 737 models to conduct initial and repetitive electromagnetic inspections for fatigue damage.
The NTSB is investigating. And all of the onus is not on Southwest–it’s also on Boeing, as they examine that
Southwest is a busy airline operator. The stats of take offs and landing every 24 hours must be staggering. Their 737s are renowned workhorses that don’t tire, but they have to be taking a beating.
Let’s not wait for something terrible to happen. Let’s double on maintenance. Let’s do the footwork to prevent another metal fatigue occurrence to happen again, busting a hole in the fuselage at 36,000 feet.
Audio, Documents Detailing Southwest Emergency Released: MyFoxPHOENIX.com
American Airlines flight AA-343 made a safe landing following a bird strike near Chicago, Illinois, on August 17th.
Delta Airlines flight DL-2894 had to return and make an emergency landing in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 8th.
Blue Panorama Airlines flight BV-2221 made an emergency landing in Ancona, Italy, on July 17th.