An engine cover on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 fell off on Sunday during takeoff in Denver and struck the wing flap, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to open an investigation.
No one was injured and Southwest Flight 3695 returned safely to Denver International Airport around 8:15 a.m. MT (10:15 a.m. ET) on Sunday and was towed to the gate after losing the engine cowling.
The Boeing aircraft bound for Houston Hobby airport with 135 passengers and six crew members aboard climbed to about 3,140 metres before returning 25 minutes after takeoff.
Passengers arrived in Houston on another Southwest plane about four hours behind schedule. Southwest said maintenance teams are reviewing the aircraft.
The plane entered service in June 2015, according to FAA records. Boeing referred questions to Southwest.
The 737-800 is in the prior generation of the best-selling 737 known as the 737 NG, which in turn was replaced by the 737 MAX.
A spokesperson for Southwest Airlines told CBC News in a statement that the airline’s maintenance teams were reviewing the aircraft, adding that the carrier apologized to passengers who were inconvenienced by the resulting delay.
WATCH | The moment a cowling fell off a Southwest Boeing plane:
Southwest passenger films loose cowling incident from inside Boeing plane
4 hours ago
Duration 1:10
A Southwest Airlines passenger filmed an incident in which a loose engine cowling flew off a Boeing airplane on Sunday. Afterward, disembarked passengers shared how they and the plane crew reacted.
Incident an airline maintenance issue, experts say
There is heightened sensitivity around the Boeing brand right now as the company faces intense scrutiny, said Rick Erickson, the managing director of RP Erickson and Associates aviation consultants in Calgary.
“I do believe some mistakes have been made. This company was founded and very principled around its safety engineering for many, many years,” Erickson said.
“I think over this last probably dozen or 15 years, there’s been a switch in terms of management focus. And I think there’s a bit more priority perhaps on shareholder value, on driving profits and the like.”
He said an incident in which a loose cowling isn’t snapped on properly isn’t an uncommon occurrence — it likely happens a few times a month worldwide — and that it doesn’t pose a major safety issue to passengers.
Aviation industry expert John Gradek says Boeing planes make up a majority portion of WestJet’s fleet and a sizeable proportion of Air Canada’s fleet as well. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)
John Gradek, an aviation industry expert who co-ordinates the aviation management program at McGill University in Montreal, said of the Sunday incident: “It’s not a Boeing problem, it’s an airline maintenance problem.”
“Boeing has admitted that they’ve had problems with the production of the MAX airplanes and potentially with the 787 airplanes as well. And these aircraft are under the microscope by the FAA and by the [National Transportation Safety Board],” Gradek said.
But “if you want to avoid a Boeing airplane, it’s going to be very difficult, especially if you’re in Western Canada,” Gradek said, noting that Boeing planes make up a majority portion of WestJet’s fleet and a sizeable proportion of Air Canada’s fleet as well.
“The odds of getting on a Boeing if you’re flying with a Canadian carrier are very high.”
Boeing under intense criticism
ABC News aired a video posted on social media platform X of the ripped engine cover flapping in the wind with a torn Southwest logo.
Boeing has come under intense criticism since a door plug panel tore off a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 jet at 16,000 feet on Jan. 5.
In the aftermath of that incident, the FAA grounded the MAX 9 for several weeks, barred Boeing from increasing the MAX production rate and ordered it to develop a comprehensive plan to address “systemic quality-control issues” within 90 days.
Boeing production has fallen below the maximum 38 MAX planes per month the FAA is allowing. The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the MAX 9 incident.
In December, the FAA proposed mandating engine housing inspections and component replacements on Boeing 737 NG airplanes after a 2018 Southwest fatal fan blade incident.
LISTEN | A crisis of confidence is shaking Boeing:
The Current9:18Crisis of confidence at Boeing
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will step down later this year, after a string of incidents renewed concerns about the safety of the company’s planes. Washington Post reporter Lori Aratani walks us through the crisis of confidence shaking the manufacturer.
The directives would require operators to inspect and replace certain components on the engine cowling by July 2028. The National Transportation Safety Board called on Boeing in 2019 to redesign the fan cowling structure after the incident.
The FAA is investigating several other recent engine issues on Southwest’s fleet of Boeing planes.
A Southwest 737-800 flight on Thursday aborted takeoff and taxied back to the gate at Lubbock airport in Texas after the crew reported engine issues. The FAA is also investigating a March 25 Southwest 737 flight that returned to the Austin airport in Texas after the crew reported a possible engine issue.
A March 22 Southwest 737-800 flight returned to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., airport after the crew reported an engine issue. It is also being reviewed by the FAA.
Human Resources Officers must be very busy these days what with the general turnover of employees in our retail and business sectors. It is hard enough to find skilled people let alone potential employees willing to be trained. Then after the training, a few weeks go by then they come to you and ask for a raise. You refuse as there simply is no excess money in the budget and away they fly to wherever they come from, trained but not willing to put in the time to achieve that wanted raise.
I have had potentials come in and we give them a test to see if they do indeed know how to weld, polish or work with wood. 2-10 we hire, and one of those is gone in a week or two. Ask that they want overtime, and their laughter leaving the building is loud and unsettling. Housing starts are doing well but way behind because those trades needed to finish a project simply don’t come to the site, with delay after delay. Some people’s attitudes are just too funny. A recent graduate from a Ivy League university came in for an interview. The position was mid-management potential, but when we told them a three month period was needed and then they would make the big bucks they disappeared as fast as they arrived.
Government agencies are really no help, sending us people unsuited or unwilling to carry out the jobs we offer. Handing money over to staffing firms whose referrals are weak and ineffectual. Perhaps with the Fall and Winter upon us, these folks will have to find work and stop playing on the golf course or cottaging away. Tried to hire new arrivals in Canada but it is truly difficult to find someone who has a real identity card and is approved to live and work here. Who do we hire? Several years ago my father’s firm was rocking and rolling with all sorts of work. It was a summer day when the immigration officers arrived and 30+ employees hit the bricks almost immediately. The investigation that followed had threats of fines thrown at us by the officials. Good thing we kept excellent records, photos and digital copies. We had to prove the illegal documents given to us were as good as the real McCoy.
Restauranteurs, builders, manufacturers, finishers, trades-based firms, and warehousing are all suspect in hiring illegals, yet that becomes secondary as Toronto increases its minimum wage again bringing our payroll up another $120,000. Survival in Canada’s financial and business sectors is questionable for many. Good luck Chuck!. at least your carbon tax refund check should be arriving soon.
NORMAN WELLS, N.W.T. – Imperial Oil says it will temporarily reduce its fuel prices in a Northwest Territories community that has seen costs skyrocket due to low water on the Mackenzie River forcing the cancellation of the summer barge resupply season.
Imperial says in a Facebook post it will cut the air transportation portion that’s included in its wholesale price in Norman Wells for diesel fuel, or heating oil, from $3.38 per litre to $1.69 per litre, starting Tuesday.
The air transportation increase, it further states, will be implemented over a longer period.
It says Imperial is closely monitoring how much fuel needs to be airlifted to the Norman Wells area to prevent runouts until the winter road season begins and supplies can be replenished.
Gasoline and heating fuel prices approached $5 a litre at the start of this month.
Norman Wells’ town council declared a local emergency on humanitarian grounds last week as some of its 700 residents said they were facing monthly fuel bills coming to more than $5,000.
“The wholesale price increase that Imperial has applied is strictly to cover the air transportation costs. There is no Imperial profit margin included on the wholesale price. Imperial does not set prices at the retail level,” Imperial’s statement on Monday said.
The statement further said Imperial is working closely with the Northwest Territories government on ways to help residents in the near term.
“Imperial Oil’s decision to lower the price of home heating fuel offers immediate relief to residents facing financial pressures. This step reflects a swift response by Imperial Oil to discussions with the GNWT and will help ease short-term financial burdens on residents,” Caroline Wawzonek, Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance and Infrastructure, said in a news release Monday.
Wawzonek also noted the Territories government has supported the community with implementation of a fund supporting businesses and communities impacted by barge cancellations. She said there have also been increases to the Senior Home Heating Subsidy in Norman Wells, and continued support for heating costs for eligible Income Assistance recipients.
Additionally, she said the government has donated $150,000 to the Norman Wells food bank.
In its declaration of a state of emergency, the town said the mayor and council recognized the recent hike in fuel prices has strained household budgets, raised transportation costs, and affected local businesses.
It added that for the next three months, water and sewer service fees will be waived for all residents and businesses.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
TORONTO – A new report says many Canadian business leaders are worried about economic uncertainties related to the looming U.S. election.
The survey by KPMG in Canada of 735 small- and medium-sized businesses says 87 per cent fear the Canadian economy could become “collateral damage” from American protectionist policies that lead to less favourable trade deals and increased tariffs
It says that due to those concerns, 85 per cent of business leaders in Canada polled are reviewing their business strategies to prepare for a change in leadership.
The concerns are primarily being felt by larger Canadian companies and sectors that are highly integrated with the U.S. economy, such as manufacturing, automotive, transportation and warehousing, energy and natural resources, as well as technology, media and telecommunications.
Shaira Nanji, a KPMG Law partner in its tax practice, says the prospect of further changes to economic and trade policies in the U.S. means some Canadian firms will need to look for ways to mitigate added costs and take advantage of potential trade relief provisions to remain competitive.
Both presidential candidates have campaigned on protectionist policies that could cause uncertainty for Canadian trade, and whoever takes the White House will be in charge during the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 2026.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
