FAA Investigates Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines already has the ignominious distinction of having paid the largest airline fine in history for intentionally flying jets without required inspections, and now Southwest may face punishment once again. The FAA has sounded the alarm that Southwest Airlines may have installed faulty parts on as many as 40 jets, delaying several of the airline’s flights last Saturday.
 
These parts were the shields that protect the jet flaps, the mechanisms that slow the jet down as it prepares for landing. According to an FAA spokesperson, the faulty parts do not actually present an immediate cause for concern, but that Southwest Airlines still must replace the parts within ten days with parts approved by Boeing.
 
The same spokesperson also revealed that the FAA, Southwest, and Boeing had several of their engineers meet in order to ensure that there were no outstanding problems with the jets. However, Southwest continues to assert that it does not need to replace the parts, instead wondering if it needs to pursue its relationship with the FAA differently to foster a long-term solution.

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