A Southwest Airlines flight was forced to return to Denver International Airport early Sunday after the engine cowling fell off the Boeing 737 and hit the wing flap during takeoff.
The early morning flight was en route to Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport when passengers and crew realized the hood had torn off and was slamming precariously against the plane.
A cowling is a removable metal covering on the engine.
Horrifying video showed the plane’s parts flapping in the wind as the plane moved through the air. It’s the latest in a series of bad publicity and massive safety scares for the beleaguered airline.
The plane returned safely to the Denver airport around 8:15 a.m. after the incident. He had left the door at 7:39.
A Southwest Airlines flight made an emergency return to Denver Airport Sunday morning after a Boeing 737’s engine exploded shortly after takeoff.
The flight then took off on another plane at 10:41 a.m. MT and was scheduled to land in Houston just before 2 p.m. Central time.
In one video, the pilot can be heard over the in-flight public address system saying, “Let’s go ahead and declare an emergency for Southwest 3695. And we would like immediate feedback.” Apparently we have a piece of the engine cover hanging off.
According to several unconfirmed accounts from passengers on the flight, the passengers should have informed the pilot that the cowling had torn off the engine.
Just before declaring the emergency, the Southwest pilot then told the Denver air traffic controller: “So far, everything is fine. We don’t even know what it was, but apparently several passengers and flight attendants heard something loud hit the wing.
“I’m not 100 percent sure that’s the engine. I think the flaps on the inboard side of the engine… between the engine and the fuselage tore off during takeoff.
“We don’t actually see it from the cockpit, that’s exactly what the crew in the back tells us. Our engines appear to be in good condition, but our structure is damaged,” he continued.
A statement later given by the Federal Aviation Administration read: “Southwest Airlines Flight 3695 returned safely to Denver International Airport at approximately 8:15 a.m. local time on Sunday, April 7, after the crew reported that the engine cowling fell during takeoff and struck the wing. Rabat. The Boeing 737-800 was towed to the gate. The FAA will investigate.
In a brief statement, a Southwest spokesperson said: “Southwest Flight 3695 returned to Denver International Airport this morning and landed safely after experiencing a mechanical problem. We are currently working to have customers fly to Houston on another plane. Our maintenance teams are examining the aircraft.
In a video posted online by a passenger, the pilot can be heard over the onboard public address system saying: “Let’s go ahead and declare an emergency for Southwest 3695. And we would like immediate feedback.” Apparently we have a piece of the engine cover hanging off.
In January, an Alaska Airlines Boeing flight came close to disaster when a plane door exploded 16,000 feet above Portland.
The incident is the latest in a series of safety problems and terrifying scenes involving Boeing planes.
Last Thursday, a Southwest Boeing 737 was preparing to take off from Lubbock, Texas, bound for Las Vegas, when pilots were informed of an engine problem.
Local firefighters later confirmed there was an engine fire that crews needed to put out. No injuries were reported among the 150 passengers and crew on board the plane.
On March 28, an Alaska Airlines plane flying from Hawaii to Alaska was forced to turn around after a toilet flooded and filled the aisles of the Boeing 737 Max 9 with water.
The flight from Honolulu to Anchorage left the island just after 10 p.m. and was 90 minutes into the flight when the plane’s front bathroom suddenly started malfunctioning, leaking water everywhere.
Rather than continuing the six-hour journey to Alaska, the captain of Alaska Airlines Flight 828 made the decision to return to Hawaii to have the problem resolved.
Video captured by one of the passengers on board shows flight attendants rushing to mop up the deluge, throwing as many blankets and paper towels on the floor as they could find.
The embattled airline is in the midst of a safety crisis linked to its 737 Max jets, which caught fire after a door panel exploded aboard an Alaska Airlines flight.
Insiders have claimed the company has become obsessed with diversity and inclusion policies, which they deem “anti-excellence.”
“The DEI narrative is a very real thing, and at Boeing, DEI was tied to the status game. This is the thing you embrace if you want to move forward. It’s become a way to gain power,” a source recently told City Journal.
“It’s anti-excellence, because it’s poorly defined, but it became part of the culture and was linked to compensation. Every HR email says, “Inclusion makes us better.” » This type of politicization of HR is a real problem in all companies.
A recent Alaska Airlines flight from Hawaii to Alaska was diverted to Honolulu due to a flooded bathroom, filling the aisles with water.
The US aviation regulator then ordered 171 planes to be grounded for inspection before the order was lifted later in the month (Photo: Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun)
The problems with Boeing sparked a massive federal investigation and the ouster of CEO Dave Calhoun.
Since the Alaska Airlines explosion, the company has faced questions following several other potentially dangerous episodes — but regulators, airlines and passengers have been frustrated by Calhoun’s lack of answers. Shares have fallen 25 percent since the incident.
Calhoun – a seasoned crisis manager – was hired in 2020 to rescue the planemaker from a reputational setback after crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed nearly 350 people and grounded its longest-running plane. sold, the 737 MAX.
But his tenure may not join the list of his previous successes, including at Caterpillar, General Electric and the media company Nielsen, which he will leave as the iconic plane maker struggles to resolve production and sales problems. security.
The January 5 in-flight panel explosion is the latest in a series of safety problems that have shaken industry confidence in Boeing and hampered its ability to increase production to meet high demand for planes jet.
Under Calhoun’s leadership, the company struggled to keep pace with rival Airbus.
Boeing stock has lost 43% of its value since Calhoun took the top job on Jan. 13, 2020, underperforming the benchmark S&P 500 index.
Its rival Airbus added more than 26 percent to its market capitalization during the same period.
While both planemakers have received bumper orders for their planes as airlines try to respond to the post-pandemic travel boom, Boeing’s production and quality issues have frustrated customers.
Airbus, meanwhile, has continued to grow its single-aisle market share with its A320 family of aircraft following multiple crises involving the MAX.
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