Southwest Scare Prompts Tighter Inspection Intervals For Some 737 Classics | Aviation International News

Southwest Scare Prompts Tighter Inspection Intervals For Some 737 Classics

Operators of certain Boeing 737 Classics will need to perform eddy current inspections on parts of their fuselages every 500 flight cycles, forcing interru

A five-foot tear developed along the lap joint in the top of the fuselage of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 on April 1. Photo Credit: APWideworld_Ross D. Franklin

By Gregory Polek • Senior Editor

April 15, 2011

Operators of certain Boeing 737 Classics will need to perform eddy current inspections on parts of their fuselages every 500 flight cycles, forcing interruptions to their service at much more frequent intervals than anyone had originally envisioned. The mandate stems from an April 5 emergency AD issued by the FAA, published four days after a five-foot-long piece of a Southwest Airlines 737-300 tore open during a revenue flight between Sacramento and Phoenix, forcing an emergency landing in Yuma, Ariz.

The AD calls for inspection of a section of lap joint for fatigue cracking in certain airplanes that have flown 30,000 flight cycles. Only about 15 years old, the Southwest airplane that developed the tear in its fuselage had accumulated 39,781 flight cycles and 48,740 flight hours.

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