Kudos to Southwest Airlines

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Southwest Airlines seem to be taking a proactive stand with their cracked fuselage problem. I'm sure this is costing them a lot of money, and I must say, I respect what they're doing. I wonder if the other airlines will begin inspecting their 737s and/or if the NTSB will order inspections for all 737s.
 
They've already been busted for potential lack of maintenance about 2 years ago so they don't want more bad PR; plus, this is definitely something passengers can "see" vs. a missing bolt in an engine or lack of grease maintenance in a wheel bearing.
 
I wouldn't characterize checking the airplanes after one failed in flight as "proactive"..."proactive" would have meant finding the crack before the fuselage failed...this isn't the first time that fatigue has lead to failure, in the 737, or in several other airframes. Further, when it became clear that the a design flaw in the 737 rudder actuator had caused two fatal crashes, Southwest took years to replace them...they were the last carrier to complete the changes, and they lobbied the FAA hard to not make the actuator replacement mandatory....in other words, they fought to NOT replace the actuators.

However, the crew deserves kudos for safely handling the event. The Pilots responded promptly, professionally and capably.
 
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I don't intend to throw mud on anyone but I don't feel Southwest has kept current or been truthful with their aging fleet inspections on these airframes.

High cycle airframes are prone to this type of failure. If you notice, it is very rare to have a surface compromise on a lower, more visible section of a fuselage. These things are always in locations along the top of the plane where it's very difficult for inspection to make a quick visual look of the area. These things rarely get looked at and this is the result.

Now, under Federal mandate, the airframes are getting a eddy-current inspection of the fastener rows at the lap joint in hopes of detecting pending failure. And failure is precisely what they're finding. Numerous indications are showing up.

How can this happen when the plane came out of overhaul less than a year ago and given a clean bill of health? Something serious has been overlooked. Southwest may get rave reviews for their on-time performance but they sure don't impress me with their outsourced maintenance.
 
I hope none of these problems are occuring because they now maintain their fleet in El Salvador by Aeroman i order to save money. Business Week reported that mechanics at Aeroman make between $4,500 and $15,000 a year, while U.S. airplane mechanics earn an average of $52,000 a year.

Others are doing the same. United does engine maintenece in China..

Interesting articles. There are many more.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113877784

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113942431

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?articleID=20080315_5_E2_NGENS16803

Southwest

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2510538
 
Originally Posted By: Astro14
I wouldn't characterize checking the airplanes after one failed in flight as "proactive"..."proactive" would have meant finding the crack before the fuselage failed...this isn't the first time that fatigue has lead to failure, in the 737, or in several other airframes. Further, when it became clear that the a design flaw in the 737 rudder actuator had caused two fatal crashes, Southwest took years to replace them...they were the last carrier to complete the changes, and they lobbied the FAA hard to not make the actuator replacement mandatory....in other words, they fought to NOT replace the actuators.

However, the crew deserves kudos for safely handling the event. The Pilots responded promptly, professionally and capably.


I agree but I've never been a big fan of Southwest.
 
I laughed when you said they were being proactive. Lol if they were pro active this incident would not have happened! They are being re-active.
 
Originally Posted By: tenderloin
I hope none of these problems are occuring because they now maintain their fleet in El Salvador by Aeroman i order to save money. Business Week reported that mechanics at Aeroman make between $4,500 and $15,000 a year, while U.S. airplane mechanics earn an average of $52,000 a year.

Others are doing the same. United does engine maintenece in China..

Interesting articles. There are many more.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113877784

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113942431

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?articleID=20080315_5_E2_NGENS16803

Southwest

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2510538


yeah, those cheap SW lights are being advertised like crazy.. what's the saying, you get what you pay for.
smirk.gif
 
My dad was an A&P mechanic for National Airlines and Pan Am for 25 years, worked on the 707, 727, 747, DC-8 and DC-10. Back then if the maintenance crew saw a problem with an engine they wouldn't hesitate to swap out the engine at the cost of delaying the flight a few hours, nothing was said and they didn't get harassed or in trouble for doing the right thing. They just told the pilots exactly what was wrong and the pilots refused to fly the plane untill it was fixed correctly.

In today's world of low cost carriers trying to fill every seat, have the best on time record, fast turn around time to the next city on a busy schedule, high jet fuel prices and trying to make the most profit per flight they are outsourcing maintenance to the lowest bidder.

Red this article about Finnair to layoff 450 mechanics and outsource their maintenance to cut costs.

http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Finnair-to-lay-off-450-workers-1316250.php


After Pan Am went out of business my dad was old enough to retire but found a job at a fly by night FAA repair shop near Miami International Airpot to keep busy. Some of the [censored] he saw and the poor repair jobs done on some planes this company repaired he refused to sign off on any of the work and quit within 2 weeks. The owner of the company tried to pressure him into staying but there was no way in [censored] that he would over look certain things going on at this shop.
 
Originally Posted By: Rick in PA
Southwest Airlines seem to be taking a proactive stand with their cracked fuselage problem. I'm sure this is costing them a lot of money, and I must say, I respect what they're doing.

What choice did they have? If they didn't do it themselves, FAA would have ordered them to do it soon after, which by the way the FAA did today.
 
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Makes me wonder how planes stay in the air. I've heard some serious horror stories....


Planes are truly remarkable. They have over a million parts. Think of it this way, if you have a car, any car. You drive it all day, every day. It would likely fall apart within a year or two. Airplanes do it all day, every day, nearly every day of the year, for decades. They are built to last.
 
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