AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin
A Southwest Airlines plane sits in a remote area of the Yuma International Airport, after the plane had a section of fuselage tear from the plane during a flight on Friday, seen here Monday, April 4, 2011, in Yuma, Ariz.
Monday, April 4, 2011 | 4:36 p.m.
In this photo provided by passenger Christine Ziegler, unidentified passengers take photos with cell phones of an apparent hole in the cabin on a Southwest Airlines aircraft Friday, April 1, 2011 in Yuma, Ariz. Authorities say the flight from Phoenix to Sacramento, Calif., was diverted to Yuma due to rapid decompression in the plane. FAA spokesman Ian Gregor says the cause of the decompression isn't immediately known. But passengers aboard the plane say there was a hole in the cabin and that forced an emergency landing.
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Southwest Airlines expects its flight schedule will be back to normal Tuesday after three days of disruptions resulting from the company’s decision to remove 79 aircraft from service for inspections after a jet made an emergency landing Friday.
The busiest passenger carrier at McCarran International Airport voluntarily grounded and inspected all of its Boeing 737-300 jets – the oldest planes in Southwest’s fleet – after a flight from Phoenix to Sacramento, Calif., was diverted to Yuma, Ariz., after a hole was punctured on the aircraft skin at 36,000 feet.
Passengers told various news outlets they heard a loud noise like a gunshot, that air suddenly rushed through the fuselage and the plane went into a steep controlled dive while oxygen masks were deployed.
Two people, a passenger and a flight attendant, reportedly suffered minor injuries in the incident.
Southwest officials believe the plane decompressed as a result of metal fatigue and the inspections were being made with specialized equipment to detect small, subsurface cracks not visible to the eye.
Hundreds of Southwest flights were canceled over the weekend. Airline representatives did not have a breakdown of flight cancellations by market, but Southwest routinely uses its 737-300 jets on some Las Vegas routes.
By late today, Southwest had completed inspection of 67 aircraft and returned 64 of them to service. The remaining three aircraft showed signs of subsurface cracks and will be out of service until Boeing recommends appropriate repairs.
For flights tonight, Southwest recommends checking for the latest information on cancellation updates.
Southwest operates 548 Boeing 737s and the fleet is constantly checked and inspected as directed by the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing. Inspections are dictated by the number of cycles – a takeoff and a landing – and on a calendar basis.
The airline, which flew more than 15.7 million passengers in and out of Las Vegas in 2010, is gradually retiring its 300-series fleet and is adding new -700 and -800 models as replacements.
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