PHILADELPHIA. Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 made an emergency landing in Philadelphia today after an engine blew and, eyewitnesses say, put a hole in the plane fuselage. Details are still emerging as safety officials begin to investigate the cause.
Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 departed from LaGuardia Airport in New York and was heading to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas when it made an emergency landing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Boeing 737-700 operated by Southwest Airlines landed safely, despite a severely damaged engine and an apparant hole in the side of the plane near the engine.
News outlets are reporting: “Southwest plane makes emergency landing in Philadelphia after the engine blows, reportedly putting a hole in the plane.”
Intelligent Aerospace editors will report more details as soon as they emerge.
In June of 2014, Boeing announced that Southwest Airlines was implementing Boeing Airplane Health Management (AHM) to enhance operational efficiency in its maintenance and engineering operations.
Southwest Airlines uses Airplane Health Management to collect and evaluate airplane operations data while the airplane is in flight. This real-time data is used to signal ground operations crews of any potential maintenance issues before the airplane lands, minimizing flight schedule disruptions and maintenance-related delays.
"In our trials with Airplane Health Management, we clearly saw how we would be able to reduce – and even avoid – unscheduled maintenance and ground time for our fleet," said Jim Sokol, vice president of Maintenance Operations, Southwest Airlines. "The predictive nature of this product allows us to proactively initiate planning for necessary repairs, even while an airplane is in flight."
Boeing Airplane Health Management is a data-driven capability used worldwide by airplane operators and maintenance, repair, and overhaul providers (MROs) to proactively manage the serviceability of airplanes and fleets. It is designed to interface with existing airplane systems and communication infrastructure, using state-of-the-art airplane and ground technology to address day-of-operation disruptions, help predict future operations events and prevent unplanned maintenance and schedule interruptions.
Airplane Health Management is part of an integrated suite of aviation services marketed as the Boeing Edge. These include parts, training, engineering, maintenance and software solutions that increase the efficiency and profitability of airlines and leasing companies.
Southwest Airlines is an all-Boeing carrier and operates the largest 737 fleet of any airline. In 2011, the airline became the launch customer for the 737 MAX.
