More scrutiny for aged aircraft
The Southwest Airlines 737 that lost a section of its fuselage Credit: AP
The gaping hole that opened in the fuselage of Southwest Flight 812 at 34,400 feet Friday has prompted heightened scrutiny of aging aircraft. That should make the flying public safer. The urgency to see that it does must not flag once Friday's harrowing, hole-in-the-plane incident fades from public attention.
That Boeing 737-300 is 15 years old. The Federal Aviation Administration has no rule spelling out how old is too old for a commercial airplane, but those in service more than 14 years are considered "aging aircraft." Even before Friday's incident, they were inspected more frequently, a mandate that was appropriately toughened Tuesday.
Under an emergency FAA directive, operators of early Boeing 737 models must now conduct extensive electromagnetic inspections for fatigue damage of the sort that led to Friday's incident. It covers 175 planes, including 80 registered in the United States, most of which are operated by Southwest.
In addition, a pending rule would require manufacturers to establish a "time of service" for each type of plane they build, indicating the number of takeoffs and landings, or hours of operation the aircraft is expected to provide and remain free of fatigue damage. Using that information to help tailor inspection requirements by type of aircraft is a commonsense reform.
A rupture in the skin of a plane six miles in the air with 118 people on board is a vivid warning that shouldn't be forgotten.
