Roof ripped open on Southwest flight forces FAA to mandate inspections on Boeing 737s

Posted by John McHaleWASHINGTON, 5 April 2011. A hole that ripped open in the roof of a Southwest Airlines flight forced an emergency landing last Friday and has now forced officials at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to mandate operators of specific early Boeing 737 models to conduct initial and repetitive electromagnetic inspections for fatigue damage. This action will initially apply to a total of approximately 175 aircraft worldwide, 80 of which are U.S.-registered aircraft. Most of the aircraft in the U.S. are operated by Southwest Airlines."Safety is our number one priority," says Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "Last Friday's incident was very serious and could result in additional action depending on the outcome of the investigation.""The FAA has comprehensive programs in place to protect commercial aircraft from structural damage as they age," says FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. "This action is designed to detect cracking in a specific part of the aircraft that cannot be spotted with visual inspection."The FAA airworthiness directive will require initial inspections using electromagnetic, or eddy-current, technology in specific areas of the aircraft fuselage on certain Boeing 737 aircraft in the -300, -400, and -500 series that have accumulated more than 30,000 flight cycles. It will then require repetitive inspections at regular intervals.Last November, the FAA published a rule designed specifically to address widespread fatigue damage in aging aircraft. The rule requires aircraft manufacturers to establish a number of flight cycles or hours a plane can operate and be free from fatigue damage. The rule requires aircraft manufacturers to incorporate the limits into their maintenance programs.