Flights are being canceled after Southwest Airlines voluntarily grounded more than a hundred of its planes due to a maintenance issue.
Southwest Airlines passengers leaving and arriving Hobby Airport Wednesday were aware of the maintenance oversight but say it was not enough to keep them from flying.
“It doesn't worry me that much. I'm in maintenance where things have to be done on time also and sometimes you're late and if you're late they come down on you,” a passenger told KPRC2.
Southwest released a statement on the issue. It reads, in part: “Southwest Airlines discovered a required maintenance check on the standby hydraulic system, which serves as a back-up to the primary hydraulic systems, was overdue on 128 Boeing 737-700 aircraft. Southwest immediately and voluntarily removed the affected aircraft from service, initiated maintenance checks, disclosed the matter to the FAA, and developed an action plan to complete all overdue checks.”
Dozens of flights were canceled Tuesday but only a handful were canceled Wednesday as maintenance teams worked to verify that all of the planes that missed required maintenance are up to speed.
The airline voluntarily grounded 128 of its jets after it learning of the oversight.
Several years ago Southwest was fined $7.5 million for flying planes that had missed critical safety checks. And in 2011, nearly 100 planes were grounded for checks after a 3-foot hole tore open in the fuselage of a jet.
Source: southwest - Google News http://ift.tt/1LWhbJZ
