A Southwest Airlines flight leaving Denver International Airport on Sunday had to return to the airport less than half an hour after take-off, as one of the engine’s covers detached and fell off. Flight 3695, operated on a Boeing 737-800, was headed to Houston’s Hobby airport, but landed back at Denver at 8:15 am local time, only about 25 minutes after departure.
Footage captured by passengers in window seats shows the cover of the right engine, called cowling, flapping in the wind and completely detaching before the plane touched back down at the airport. After landing, the plane was towed to the gate.
None of the 145 passengers or 6 crew members suffered any injuries due to the incident. Passengers were offered another flight and arrived at their destination with a delay of about 4 hours. “We apologise for the inconvenience of their delay, but place our highest priority on ultimate safety for our customers and employees”, the airline said in a statement.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has launched an investigation into the matter. According to their records, the aircraft has been in use since June 2015. Southwest has admitted that, unlike other accidents this year where Boeing was found at fault for sub-standard quality, it was their responsibility to carry out maintenance on the plane’s engines, cowlings included.
While this time the issue seems to be caused by maintenance, this is just the latest in a series of accidents involving Boeing planes this year. The company has been struggling since January, when a mid-flight blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight operated on a B 737 Max 9, marked the start of a disastrous year for the aircraft manufacturer. The FAA continues to hold Boeing to heightened auditing. Meanwhile, the FBI has written to passengers on the flight’s manifest to let them know the flight could be investigated as a possible crime.
Other Boeing models have also been facing problems. The windshield of a 777 cracked on 28 February and, earlier this year, the nose wheel of a 757 just fell off and rolled down the runway at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Yet another wheel fell off a 777-200 on 7 March, damaging several cars in San Francisco. On 4 March, the engine of a 737 burst into flames only minutes after take-off and, on the morning of 11 March, a Latam Airlines flight operated on a 787-9 Dreamliner suddenly lost altitude about one hour before reaching its destination, sending passengers flying through the cabin.
Amid the crisis, the company’s CEO Dave Calhoun has announced he will be stepping down at the end of the year, while the Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and Chief Executive Officer, Stan Deal, was replaced on 25 March.
