FAA ends review of Southwest Air after safety incidents

On By Littum

TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE The Federal Aviation Administration investigated Southwest Airlines after several safety incidents.

TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

The Federal Aviation Administration investigated Southwest Airlines after several safety incidents.

WASHINGTON >> The US Federal Aviation Administration has ended a safety review of Southwest Airlines it opened in July after a series of incidents, including some that raised serious concerns and led to investigations.

The review “did not identify any significant safety concerns,” the FAA said this month.

Southwest said it appreciated the opportunity to engage with the FAA “as part of our mutual dedication to safety.”

The FAA began the review after a Southwest flight in July flew at low altitude over Tampa Bay, Fla., one of a series of flights that raised questions about the carrier’s safety practices.

It followed other incidents, including an April flight that came within about 400 feet of the ocean off Hawaii after the first officer inadvertently pushed forward on the control column and the plane hit a maximum rate of descent of about 4,400 feet per minute.

The FAA is also investigating another very low-altitude flight that dropped to about 500 feet about 9 miles from the destination airport in Oklahoma.

The US National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are also investigating a May 25 737 MAX flight that experienced a “Dutch roll” at 34,000 feet en route from Phoenix to Oakland, California.

Such lateral asymmetric movements are named after a Dutch skating technique and can pose serious safety risks.

The FAA is also investigating a June flight that departed from a closed runway in Portland, Maine.

Southwest told pilots in September that it would hold a safety day for them on a staggered basis through early 2025, allowing for frank discussions without fear of retaliation, including “an in-depth, facilitated, peer-to-peer discussion about specific events.”

The FAA said in October it had found no significant safety issues in a similar review of United Airlines after a series of incidents and ended its enhanced oversight and approval processes for the carrier to add planes and services.

Southwest did not face the same restrictions. FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in September that its review of Southwest was “a little more narrow” than the investigation of United.