Wear and tear eyed in SWA’s short hops
DALLAS — Southwest Airlines runs its planes hard. They make many short hops and more trips per day than other U.S. airliners, which adds to wear and tear on parts, including the engines.
As the investigation into last week’s deadly engine failure continues, Southwest CEO Gary Kelly could face questions about whether the company’s low-cost business model — which puts its planes through frequent takeoffs and landings — is putting passengers at risk.
Some aviation safety experts said they see no reason for alarm. And, in fact, Southwest’s safety record is enviable: Until last week, no passenger had died in an accident during its 47-year history.
Still, the Dallas-based airline has paid millions over the past decade to settle safety violations, including fines for flying planes that didn’t have required repairs. Twice in the past nine years, holes have torn open in the roofs of Southwest planes in flight.
In another episode in 2016, an engine on a Southwest jet blew apart over Florida because of metal fatigue, or wear and tear, hurling debris that struck the fuselage and tail. No one was hurt.
Then, last week, one of the engines on Southwest Flight 1380 blew apart at 32,000 feet over Pennsylvania, spraying the Boeing 737 with shrapnel and killing 43-year-old Jennifer Riordan, a mother of two who was blown partway out a broken window. The National Transportation Safety Board said a fan blade that had snapped off the engine was showing signs of metal fatigue.
Aviation safety experts and longtime industry watchers said they do not consider Southwest unsafe.
Southwest’s short, frequent flights put more stress on the plane and engines, like a car used heavily in stop-and-go city traffic, said Alan Diehl, an aviation-safety consultant and former NTSB and Air Force accident investigator.
Diehl said, however, that Southwest’s crews are accustomed to the quicker pace and that their work is made easier because Southwest flies only Boeing 737s instead of an assortment of planes.
Southwest jets make on average 5.3 flights per day compared with between 2.8 and 3.4 per day at American Airlines, Delta and United, according to an analysis by industry newsletter Airline Weekly using information from airline data provider Diio.
Southwest flies frequently on short routes such as Los Angeles to San Francisco and Dallas to Houston. Its average flight is 764 miles, the shortest among U.S. airlines and barely half as long as the average at American and Delta, according to the Airline Weekly analysis. Each takeoff and landing contributes to wear and tear on the aircraft.