So, after denials, officials at Southwest Airlines now admit some of the aging Boeing 737s indentified in a recent Federal Aviation Administration inspection and maintenance probe do fly into Long Island-MacArthur Airport. Which should concern Long Islanders. Greatly. Since, no matter how much the situation is downplayed by Southwest, it still raises an eyebrow with anyone who knows anything about flying. And about airplanes.
To wit: Southwest faces a $10.2-million fine for keeping 46 of its 737-300 series aircraft in the air despite having missed a required inspection for fuselage cracks. Six were later found to have had hairline cracks. Then, last week, Southwest admitted it had ground 38 aircraft -- a large number of them 737-300 series jets -- to reinspect areas beneath the windows.
Four needed what the airline called "minor" repairs.
Southwest told Long Island it was all no big deal. The planes were being fixed. And besides, officials said, they didn't fly those 737s to Long Island.
Which, it turns out, was untrue.
In fact, Southwest flies as many as 11 of the 737-300s daily to MacArthur.
Why should any of this be alarming? After all, we're talking "minor" hairline cracks, right?
Well, the answer is Aloha Airlines Flight 243.
On April 28, 1988 -- 20 years ago next month -- Aloha Airlines Flight 243, a Boeing 737-200 series aircraft, was making its daily rounds between Honolulu International Airport, Maui and Hilo when, on the jump leg between Hilo and Honolulu, the passenger cabin ripped open -- and the roof at the front end of the cabin was blown off, sucking a flight attendant out of the jet to her death. The cause of the rapid decompression? A tear in the fuselage that had begun as a minor crack in the fuselage skin -- a crack that spread over time as the cabin was pressurized and then depressurized during each of the short-haul flights made by the Boeing 737.
As a result of the Aloha Airlines disaster inspection schedules for the Boeing 737 were ramped up, primarily because the jet is often used for short-haul trips -- meaning the cabin undergoes a greater number of pressurizations and depressurizations than aircraft used for long-haul flights.
Chances are an incident like the one that nearly doomed Aloha 243 -- it was a miracle that the crew ever managed to land the plane; an entire section of the roof and side of the plane was blown out, passengers sitting outside in the jetstream -- will ever happen again. Because, as a result of the incident, airlines have become much more diligent in their maintenance and inspections. The FAA has become tougher on enforcement of maintenance. Still, with the admission by Southwest it's clear more has to be done.
And that both the FAA and the flying public need to keep the pressure on airlines.
Sure, the Aloha incident involved a 200-series 737 -- and not a 300-series plane. But 20 years after Aloha 243 those 300-series 737s are getting into the same age range as the 200-series were back in 1988. And metal fatigue is always an issue in any aging aircraft.
Shame on Southwest for not being more diligent.
Fortunate for us they've had their hands held to the fire before something worse happened here on Long Island.