79 Boeing 737s grounded due to ceiling puncture
On April 2, the American airline Southwest Airlines decided to temporarily suspend operations of its Boeing 737 aircraft for inspection after one aircraft had a 1.2 meter hole in the ceiling and had to make an emergency landing on April 1.
CNN said the incident occurred 20 minutes after taking off from Phoenix to Sacramento, California, and the Boeing 737 had to land at a military base in Yuma, Arizona.
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A large hole appeared in the ceiling of a Southwest plane on April 1 - |
Passengers heard a loud bang and felt a sudden drop in pressure as a section of the ceiling of the plane broke off, measuring 1.2m long and 30cm wide. The incident caused the plane to fall from an altitude of 10,800m to 5,700m in just 1 minute, but the pilot then regained control at an altitude of 3,300m and no passengers were injured.
Investigators are now working with Boeing engineers to determine the cause of the hole. The investigation into the plane's hull is expected to result in hundreds of flights being grounded.
“The safety of our passengers and employees is our top concern,” said Southwest CEO Mike Van de Ven. “We will quickly investigate to minimize the impact to our customers’ schedules.”
According to Tuoi Tre
