Southwest Airlines Flight 2294
| Incident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | July 13, 2009 |
| Type |
In-flight structural failure Rapid decompression |
| Site | near Charleston, WV |
| Passengers | 126 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Survivors | 131 (all) |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 737-3H4 |
| Operator | Southwest Airlines |
| Tail number | N387SW |
| Flight origin | Nashville International Airport (KBNA) |
| Destination | Baltimore Washington International Airport (KBWI) |
Southwest Airlines Flight 2294 (SWA 2294, WN 2294) was a scheduled US passenger aircraft flight which made an emergency landing at Yeager Airport (CRW) in Charleston, West Virginia, on July 13, 2009, after what was described as a "football sized" opening in the airplane's fuselage caused rapid depressurization of the passenger cabin.
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[edit] Incident
The aircraft involved was Boeing 737-3H4 N387SW.[1] It was traveling at 34,000 feet on a scheduled flight between Nashville, Tennessee (KBNA), and Baltimore, Maryland (KBWI). The accident was investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.[2]
Earlier criticism of the carrier's lax maintenance and inspection practices, for which the airline had been fined $7.5 million in 2008, was quickly echoed.[who?][3] An NTSB spokesman said the hole was limited to 14 by 17 inches by the design of the aircraft.[4]
The NTSB investigation into the incident confirmed that metal fatigue was the cause of the crack;[5] specifically, that the damage was caused by pre-existing fatigue cracks that began at the edge of metal sheets on the inner surface of the aircraft's skin.[6]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "July 2009". Jacdec. http://www.jacdec.de/news/months/09_07.htm. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
- ^ Shawn Nottingham and Stephanie Gallman (July 14, 2009). "Jet makes landing with football-sized hole". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/13/us.jetliner.damaged/index.html.
- ^ Eric Torbenson and Dave Michaels (July 15, 2009). "Hole in Southwest jet revives inspection concerns". Boston Herald. http://news.bostonherald.com/news/national/south/view/20090715hole_in_southwest_jet_revives_inspection_concerns/srvc=home&position=recent.
- ^ Alan Levin (July 15, 2009). "NTSB: Jet's design limited tear's damage". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-07-14-southwest-plane-hole_N.htm.
- ^ Hole in Southwest jet blamed on metal fatigue
- ^ "NTSB: Fatigue cracks led to hole in Southwest Airlines 737". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 19 August 2010. http://blog.seattlepi.com/aerospace/archives/218677.asp?source=rss. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
[edit] External links
- Southwest Airlines information regarding Flight 2294, official blog
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