The fourth largest airline in the U.S. recently took an unexpected step after discovering several planes had missed safety inspections.
Recent reports say Southwest Airlines decided to ground 128 planes that had missed inspections. The grounding is stated to comprise approximately one-fifth of the fleet of the fourth largest airline in the U.S.
Source: AP Report “Southwest grounding 128 planes over missed inspections”
“DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines Co. says it has grounded 128 planes after failing to inspect backup hydraulic systems used to control the rudder if the main system fails.”
To read more visit http://news.yahoo.com/southwest-grounding-128-planes-over-missed-inspections-043340181–finance.html.
According to a spokesperson for the airline, Brandy King, federal safety regulators were immediately notified of the oversight and the issue concerning the operation of the multiple Boeing 737-700 jets was in the process of being fixed at the time of the most recent reports. The inspections were expected to be completed in the few days following the mass grounding.
For some, the matter has raised concerns regarding the safety of passengers when it comes to procedures the major airline has put into place. Upon the discovery of the maintenance oversight, the 128 planes had reportedly already flown the beyond the point of the inspections being required.
Source: International Business Times Report “Southwest Airlines Maintenance Snafu Raises Safety Concerns”
“The overdue inspections involved the hydraulic systems that control the plane’s rudder if the main system fails. “This is a periodic inspection of a backup system,” the FAA said in a statement. “The FAA evaluated the risk and agreed that the airline could continue to operate the planes during the short interim.”
To read further visit http://www.ibtimes.com/southwest-airlines-maintenance-snafu-raises-safety-concerns-1828478.
The report by the International Business Times further points out that Southwest has had maintenance compliance issues previously, including a $12 million civil penalty initiated against the airline by the Federal Aviation Administration last year. A lawsuit was filed by the Justice Department alleging Southwest Airlines had flown planes that the FAA indicated had not been airworthy following improper repairs.
The report also notes; however, that most experts say the airline has had an excellent safety record despite the recent concerns. There have been no fatalities in the air reported in the airline’s more than four decades long history.
According to aviation accident lawyer Jonathan C. Reiter, whose law firm handles both domestic and international cases involving aviation accident injury, inspection oversight is among the topic issues linked to plane crashes that involve commercial carriers. Says the attorney, “an airline may exhibit a strong record when it comes to having limited in air fatalities; however, attention must also be paid to how maintenance and daily operations are handled when assessing inadequacies regarding safety.”
Other experts seem to agree. Aviation safety specialist Christine Negroni is quoted by the International Business Times as stating of Southwest, “Too much attention is paid by the public to fatal accidents. The true indicator of whether an airline is safe is not the highly unusual fatal airplane accident, but rather how it handles everyday maintenance and operations. With that criteria, clearly Southwest has some remedial work to do.”
Some suggest that due to the FAA’s allowance of the Boeing 737s to remain in commission in spite of the missed inspections there was no serious threat posed to flyers as a result of the recently reported oversight. However, as noted by aviation attorney Jonathan C. Reiter the airline will likely face some challenges when it comes to how the flying public will view the safety of Southwest planes until the matter is fully resolved.
