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FAA investigates Southwest over baggage weight discrepancies
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is investigating Southwest Airlines Co for widespread failure to accurately track the combined weight of checked bags loaded onto its jets, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Monday. The U.S. aviation safety agency's year-long civil probe found systemic and significant mistakes with employee calculations and luggage-loading practices, resulting in potential discrepancies when pilots compute takeoff weights, the Journal said, citing… (www.yahoo.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Call me a conspiracy theorist but I think the other carriers put the FAA up to this because Southwest is the only carrier that doesn't charge for baggage. Wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened.
Michael..really sir? this would seemingly be mmore of a whistleblower thing from either a ramp person who actually loads bags,or a mechanic,as they have been in talks with that groups union..by the way, southwest may not charge at this point for checked baggage,but rest assured that is coming in the future..i really doubt the other carriers (and you didn't specify which you feel are "conspiring" with the faa)would go that far..
Not a big problem on todays jets.....there is a safety margin built in. Rare to have this cause problems. Couple exceptions that come to mind.....charters and cruise people headed to Miami. Airbus weighs itself aerodynamically after takeoff so you have a real time reference....it won't keep you out of the trees but you will know why you hit them......all I can say is southwest must really be out in left field to get the FAA involved.
Out of curiosity, is it true that pilots add an extra 25 lbs per passenger for planes going to Samoa? FAA figures 199 lbs for an average male, but the average Samoan male is 220. Although Southwest doesn't fly to Samoa, you can clearly see how weight is a major issue for pilots and airlines
This is an area I was always concerned about when I dispatched at other airlines. There is alot of trust placed on unlicensed people to properly load the aircraft. Also, the assumed weight of passengers. I dont think using the FAA standards of 170 lbs is anywhere accurate in the real world, I would not be surprised if every aircraft is overweight on take off. Im retired now.
They cannot be fined enough, and should be grounded until they can prove they have an accurate system in place.