During a flight on April 4, a Southwest Airlines plane had a section of fuselage tear from the plane. Federal aviation officials were preparing to issue an order Tuesday that calls for emergency inspections on 80 U.S.-registered Boeing 737 jetliners with histories similar to that Southwest Airlines jet, which had been pressurized and depressurized 39,000 times before a 5-foot-long hole opened in its fuselage. The FAA’s emergency order will require initial inspections using electromagnetic devices on some Boeing 737 aircraft in the -300, -400 and -500 series that have accumulated more than 30,000 takeoffs and landings. It will require repetitive inspections at regular intervals. Learn more from the Associated Press.In this photo, courtesy of the National Transportation Safety Board, technicians use the dual frequency eddy current device being used to conduct inspections on the lap joints of the Southwest Airlines plane.
Tears Prompt Electromagnetic Inspections on 737s
