Southwest Airlines has been alleged to have broken federal safety rules. At this times the airline has grounded 44 Boeing planes until they determine if they need further inspections.
Federal Aviation Administration officials and congressional investigators have raised concerns about the airlines safety practices. It is alleged the company's fleet made almost 60,000 flights without fuselage inspections.
The airline has put three employees on leave following the questions arising from the FAA.
"Upon learning last month of an investigation with respect to our handling of this inspection and an airworthiness directive, I immediately ordered an independent and comprehensive investigation by outside counsel," Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly said in a Tuesday statement.
The FAA submitted documents to congressional investigators saying that the airline flew over 100 planes in violation of standard safety checks. According to the FAA the company failed on nearly 60,000 flights to inspection fuselage areas to detect fatigue cracking which is an FAA directive. Furthermore the company continues to make an additional 1,451 flights after the discovery of failure to comply. After inspections it was discovered that 6 of the 46 planes had fatigue cracks.
Whistle-blowers are saying that not only is the airline to blame in the safety violations but the FAA played a part as well. It has been alleged that FAA managers knew of the safety lapses and still allowed Southwest to operate and conduct safety checks on a slower schedule.
"I am concerned with some of our findings as to our controls over procedures within our maintenance airworthiness directive and regulatory compliance processes," Kelly said Tuesday. "I have insisted that we have the appropriate maintenance organizational and governance structure in place to ensure that the right decisions are being made."
Mandatory checks for fuselage checks started after the cabin on an Aloha Airlines 737 tore apart during a flight in 1988. During that incident a flight attendant was killed and several other passengers and crew were in danger until the flight landed.
Southwest Airlines flight history has been unblemished having never had a catastrophic crash.
