London, April 05: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has called on US carriers to inspect twin-engine Boeing 737 jet airliners for fuselage cracks after a Southwest Airlines plane split open in flight.
The agency on Monday issued an emergency safety directive and ordered initial and repetitive electromagnetic inspections for fatigue damage of certain older Boeing 737-300, 737-400 and 737-500 models. The mandate will begin Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
The FAA also wants operators of about 100 other older Boeing 737s worldwide to complete the same inspections.
The FAA’s move came after inspections found cracks in the fuselages of three Southwest Airlines 737-300 aircraft that will keep them grounded until appropriate repairs can be completed.
Southwest has grounded part of its fleet following the April 1 incident over Arizona. A 5-foot-long hole tore open Friday in the passenger cabin roof shortly after the Southwest Airlines plane with 118 people onboard left Phoenix for Sacramento, California. It landed at a military base in Yuma, Arizona, located 240 kilometers (150 miles) southwest of Phoenix. No one was seriously hurt.
There are 931 Boeing 737-300 models in service worldwide, 288 of which are in the US fleet.
Southwest Airlines operates 79 of the aircraft and is expected to be affected gravely by the Federal Aviation Administration directive. The airline canceled 70 of its around 3,400 scheduled flights on Monday.
———Agencies