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Southwest Airlines proposed a ploy to deceive FAA on Boeing 737 MAX, legal filing alleges
In April 2016, when Boeing’s 737 MAX was in flight test a year ahead of its certification by the Federal Aviation Administration, Southwest Airlines made a strange proposal to Boeing — one that suggests an effort to deceive the FAA. According to a legal filing by attorneys pursuing a lawsuit against the airline, Southwest manager Bill Lusk asked Boeing officials, including the MAX chief technical pilot Mark Forkner, if engineers could install a new flight control safety alert required for the… (www.seattletimes.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
This is no surprise to me, Being a Mechanic for them many years ago I was asked to do things that risked my license and certainly were not legal by any aspect. I am not sure if they have improved over last number of years, but I will drive long before I will fly South West. As a mechanic, I never had a problem with the crews and all seemed competent and did a good job taking care of the passengers. My big concern is the Maintenance... The last straw with them was they knew an engine was leaking oil (on the ground) and was out of limits. When I was assigned to clean the oil out from under and engine that they knew was out of limits, I turned in my resignation! the title on this article says a lot, but I would say is an understatement! They have been deceiving the FAA for years and that was proven a number years ago!
Sparkie speaks the truth
Hey Sparkie, the disdain for SWA on your part is no surprise to anyone here with a modicum of 'time in type' on this site. Can you name any airline you subsequently wrenched for that had a 'Better' safety record?
In my early days at XYZ freight I was a low time FO and A&P and wrenched on a big inspection or two on a 20 series when not flying and oddly enough often flew the test flight if required. If the crew chief wouldn't sit in the non-existent Lear jump seat I would not go either and 'It Was Understood'. If you had no faith in your product why would a pilot? The SWA folks in your day flew their ashes off and maintained a no losses, no fatals record, apparently long after you were gone. Two sides to every coin. Just sayin'.
In my early days at XYZ freight I was a low time FO and A&P and wrenched on a big inspection or two on a 20 series when not flying and oddly enough often flew the test flight if required. If the crew chief wouldn't sit in the non-existent Lear jump seat I would not go either and 'It Was Understood'. If you had no faith in your product why would a pilot? The SWA folks in your day flew their ashes off and maintained a no losses, no fatals record, apparently long after you were gone. Two sides to every coin. Just sayin'.
The child getting killed was before me. I worked for them in 2008
You mean the one where they landed with an 8 knot tailwind without deploying thrust reversers timely after inadequate training? Were there any maintenance issues that contributed to that incident?
Yes
All of the ones that I have worked for have been better... Piedmont Mainline, USAir (after takeover), Piedmont Regional, Pinnacle Airlines/Endeavor, & GoJet Airlines. None of those that I listed are even in close ranking to South West... In regards to their safety record at SWA, I beg to differ... In MDW, They landed and slid off the end of the runway, through the wall and hit a car in an intersection, Crew error, Landed with 4500 feet of runway, needed 5300 fett A young child was killed 6 years old died (Crew Error on landing in snow) . 2018, Uncontained Engine Failure, 1 person died, Sucked mostly out of a window
Hey Sparkie, haven't you heard, they disabled the disinformation platform and any sort of in depth net search would quickly reveal that your Gypsie Simpson 260 and tool box have resided in more than one hangar with more hull losses, sans. Go Jet, than SWA has affirmed fatals! since day One. Two fatals and zero hull losses. Might be best to not present personal bias as fact when the cuffs don't match the collar and walking down the aisle in white!
Sorry to tell you bent, but southwest had a hull loss in Burbank when they ran off the end of runway 08 and came to a stop next to a Chevron station. There were a lot of injuries, two were serious. Fortunately the airport installed an EMAS system on runway 08 so when Southwest ran off the runway again, in 2018, while landing downwind in a rain storm, the EMAS system saved them. Takeoffs and landings downwind are a Southwest specialty.
Yep, my bad!
You’re forgiven! ð