A Southwest flight from Phoenix to Sacramento was forced to make an emergency landing Friday when a hole opened in the roof. Aviation expert Clive Irving reports on why outsourcing may be a culprit.
Southwest Airlines grounded 81 of its oldest jets Saturday following an alarming emergency last night when the cabin of one of its Boeing 737s was ripped open at 36,000 feet.
The incident, aboard Southwest Airlines Flight 812 is strikingly similar to what happened to Southwest Airlines Flight 2294 in July 2009—only worse.
In both cases there was a sudden loss of cabin pressure as part of the fuselage structure failed. In both cases the pilots had to get the airplane on the ground as fast as possible, making diversions.
And in both cases the airplane involved was the Boeing 737—the only airplane Southwest flies, in a variety of models and ages.
Flight 2294 was en route from Nashville to Baltimore when passengers heard a loud pop and a hole the size of a football appeared in the roof. On Friday night, as Flight 812 was en route from Phoenix to Sacramento, there was a jarring blast and a hole opened up in the roof, far larger than a football.
As scary as these events were—and they are very scary—both airplanes landed safely and nobody was injured.
That is where the good news ends.
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