Don't You Know That's The Sound Of The Blame... Bouncing From The Planes

After careful inspections of 737 Boeing aircraft, prompted by the emergency landing of a Southwest Airliner that left a 5-foot hole in its fuselage, Boeing said that its engineering and safety experts were caught off guard by the incident.  Boeing admitted to grossly miscalculating the safety of certain older versions of their 737’s, stating they knew such risks of cracking problems did exist, but didn’t anticipate these possibilities to occur until much later in their lifespan.

Now Boeing  had advised airlines that the planes could make 60,000 flights before they needed to undergo detailed inspections of the relevant sections. On Tuesday, Boeing said that it miscalculated: it now recommends inspections after 30,000 flights, half the previous threshold.  The current situation Boeing is facing after the Friday incident with Southwest gives the public a rare glimpse into how Boeing is able to handle unexpected problems, since the company prides itself on engineering prowess and its ability to predict such wear.

This new finding is now raising doubts in Boeings true understanding of the longevity and safety of their engineering, especially since new technology will be implemented in their new 787 Dreamliner aircraft, half of which will be composed of carbon-fiber composite material, a material in which Boeing has much less long term experience with.

In truth, the Southwest incident thankfully raised awareness to these problems before anybody has lost their life.  Hopefully with all the focus and attention on Southwest and Boeing, higher standards of engineering and disclosure of information can lead to safer standards in aviation.

Southwest Airlines Can't Seem To Get Enough Of That "Crack"

Inspectors found small subsurface cracks in 3 more Southwest Airlines much like the one that caused an emergency landing in a Boeing 737 last Friday, causing more delays as planes continue to be grounded for further inspection.  In addition to this troubling finding, government documents revealed that Southwest Airlines tried to push back government mandated inspections with the FAA, stating that safety checks would pose a “significant burden“… yeah, tell that to those who may have lost their lives due to your “burdens”

It is clear to us that Southwest Airlines was merely trying to cut corporate expenses by pushing off these inspections, as they were probably aware of their aging equipment which needed repairs or even replacement.

The timing of these safety woes and emergency scenarios are happening at the same time Aviation mishaps are happening all over the world.  A U.N. plane crashed in the Congo yesterday, killing 32 passengers and leaving only 1 survivor.  A small plane crashed near the Oakland Airport in California, killing its pilot.  An American Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing in New York, and a single engine PA 28 had to make an emergency landing on Rockaway Beach in Queens, also in New York.

With all these flying mishaps, you won’t be seeing me on a plane anytime soon.

I guess Tupac explained it best in his song “Who Do You Believe In”

“Times Of Armageddon, Murder In Mass Amounts

In This Society Where Only Gettin’ The Cash Counts”

Wanna get away? I think Southwest is ready to book a flight outta here

See… This is why I don’t like to fly

Southwest Airlines cancelled over 300 flights for a 2nd day in a row as it continued to inspect almost 80 planes they’ve grounded for damage similar to that of the 737 that had to make an emergency landing in Yuma, Arizona yesterday. Mechanics discovered a tear along the “lap joint” which showed extensive cracking that was undiscovered in previous maintenance checks. This definitely doesn’t sound good for Southwest’s future business. In fact, I bet a lot of people are going to sell short their stock or throw money into some put options.

The plane in yesterday’s emergency landing had 118 passengers, many of whom felt the end was near for them, prompting them to send text messages to loved ones like “Our plane is going down! I love you”. I would hate to be on a plane in a situation like that.

The plane originally tried to make an emergency landing in Phoenix, but decided to divert to Yuma as the closest suitable airport. Oxygen masks fell and the cabin lost pressure at just around 18 minutes into the flight after departing from Phoenix, on its way to Sacramento, California.

A hole ripped through the cabin of a Southwest Airlines plane as shown in this photo provided by passenger Christine Ziegler

Thankfully no serious injuries were reported and nobody came close to losing their lives. Let’s all be thankful that nobody lost their lives in this, and that Southwest was able prevent any serious disasters. The NTSB and Boeing will oversee repair work on the plane in Yuma, Arizona.