Author Topic: Southwest flight diverted to Yuma after sudden pressure loss  (Read 27325 times)

Offline avalon

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Offline cptbrw

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Offline kyle172

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Re: Southwest flight diverted to Yuma after sudden pressure loss
« Reply #2 on: April 02, 2011, 10:54:34 AM »
« Last Edit: April 02, 2011, 10:58:06 AM by kyle172 »


Offline avalon

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Re: Southwest flight diverted to Yuma after sudden pressure loss
« Reply #4 on: April 02, 2011, 01:13:38 PM »

Offline atkinsonwilliam

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Re: Southwest flight diverted to Yuma after sudden pressure loss
« Reply #5 on: April 02, 2011, 01:34:17 PM »
Is there any audio out on this yet???????

I saw one news here in Dallas reported that a passenger sent a txt to his wife that said "PLANE IS GOING DOWN, I LOVE YOU".....can you even imagine what was going on in that cabin......thank god everyone was ok...

« Last Edit: April 02, 2011, 01:36:42 PM by atkinsonwilliam »

alltheway

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Re: Southwest flight diverted to Yuma after sudden pressure loss
« Reply #6 on: April 02, 2011, 04:18:00 PM »
Not to be a smart*ss, but I'll try it anyway...

There are more cases known for crown breaching holes where most cases was blown out somewhat. Might be a little cabin over pressure? This one looks like the pressure came from outside (bad weather?) with a little less cabin pressure?

I know of the severe testing with the BBJ (737-700) to set the cabin pressure at 7000 feet instead of 8000....

reason for thinking this is the weather in the USA, where one jetstream comes from Canada and the second from Mexico and merge over the USA and then over the Atlantic ocean...

There is just some more weather issue than elsewhere in the world there....
« Last Edit: April 02, 2011, 04:20:35 PM by alltheway »


Offline NoMad

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Re: Southwest flight diverted to Yuma after sudden pressure loss
« Reply #8 on: April 03, 2011, 08:22:52 AM »
Not to be a smart*ss, but I'll try it anyway...

There are more cases known for crown breaching holes where most cases was blown out somewhat. Might be a little cabin over pressure? This one looks like the pressure came from outside (bad weather?) with a little less cabin pressure?

I know of the severe testing with the BBJ (737-700) to set the cabin pressure at 7000 feet instead of 8000....

reason for thinking this is the weather in the USA, where one jetstream comes from Canada and the second from Mexico and merge over the USA and then over the Atlantic ocean...

There is just some more weather issue than elsewhere in the world there....

That makes absolutely no sense at all.  What's more likely is the wind from the aircraft going 300mph pushed that piece of the ceiling material down. The exterior skin of the aircraft IS pushed up and out. 
« Last Edit: April 03, 2011, 11:52:34 AM by NoMad »

alltheway

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Re: Southwest flight diverted to Yuma after sudden pressure loss
« Reply #9 on: April 03, 2011, 12:33:54 PM »
Quote
The exterior skin of the aircraft IS pushed up and out.

I can't see that, but to clarify why I think it's a weather related pressure from outside is that I read at the Avherald site this is a 6 foot gap, so it's not just a hole....

So if you would push one side of an airplane hard enough a gap would occur, if there's overpressure from inside it would create a hole, but not a 6 foot gap...

Offline avalon

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Re: Southwest flight diverted to Yuma after sudden pressure loss
« Reply #10 on: April 03, 2011, 04:06:19 PM »
"Clear evidence that the skin separated at the lower rivet line" -  NTSB member Robert Sumwalt

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/04/03/arizona.flight.diverted/index.html?hpt=T1

Offline joeyb747

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Re: Southwest flight diverted to Yuma after sudden pressure loss
« Reply #11 on: April 03, 2011, 07:18:51 PM »
The aircraft involved is Boeing 737-3H4 N632SW (cn 27707/2799), delivered 06/13/96. Not a very old aircraft, but a well used aircraft, with lots of short cycles on her. I think it is possible that this is more a case of metal fatigue then anything else, given statements like in avalons post:

"Clear evidence that the skin separated at the lower rivet line".

Read the opening paragraph of the article avalon linked to:

"Investigators found "widespread cracking" on the skin of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 that made an emergency landing in Arizona after a hole opened on top of the aircraft during flight Friday, a National Transportation Safety Board member said Sunday."
« Last Edit: April 03, 2011, 07:21:54 PM by joeyb747 »

Offline avalon

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Re: Southwest flight diverted to Yuma after sudden pressure loss
« Reply #12 on: April 04, 2011, 05:48:13 PM »
FAA will issue emergency directive on Tuesday, requiring inspections of certain Boeing 737-300, -400 and -500 aircraft that have more than 30,000 flight cycles. 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/04/us-southwest-faa-idUSTRE73362V20110404

Offline NoMad

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Re: Southwest flight diverted to Yuma after sudden pressure loss
« Reply #13 on: April 04, 2011, 07:06:54 PM »
Quote
The exterior skin of the aircraft IS pushed up and out.

I can't see that, but to clarify why I think it's a weather related pressure from outside is that I read at the Avherald site this is a 6 foot gap, so it's not just a hole....

So if you would push one side of an airplane hard enough a gap would occur, if there's overpressure from inside it would create a hole, but not a 6 foot gap...
That still makes ABSOLUTELY no sense at all.  Not the "weather related pressure" and not this gap vs hole thing you've come up with.  I don't think you understand how weather, atmospheric pressure, and cabin pressure work nor do you understand how aircraft are constructed.  And besides that, the actual facts of the incident (which is what everyone else suspected would be the case) show it was clearly not what you're theorizing.

Offline joeyb747

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Re: Southwest flight diverted to Yuma after sudden pressure loss
« Reply #14 on: April 04, 2011, 08:39:55 PM »
FAA will issue emergency directive on Tuesday, requiring inspections of certain Boeing 737-300, -400 and -500 aircraft that have more than 30,000 flight cycles.  

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/04/us-southwest-faa-idUSTRE73362V20110404

Opening line:

"The government will order emergency checks of certain older model Boeing Co 737s for the kind of fatigue cracks that prompted Southwest Airlines Co to cancel hundreds of flights."

I reference my previous post. Metal fatigue is the most likely culprit here in my mind. Let us recall a couple other incidents in which metal fatigue was the cause of an incident.

Aloha 243 comes to mind:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloha_Airlines_Flight_243

Also Air China 611:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Airlines_Flight_611

Online tyketto

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Re: Southwest flight diverted to Yuma after sudden pressure loss
« Reply #15 on: April 04, 2011, 10:29:35 PM »
FAA will issue emergency directive on Tuesday, requiring inspections of certain Boeing 737-300, -400 and -500 aircraft that have more than 30,000 flight cycles.  

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/04/us-southwest-faa-idUSTRE73362V20110404

Opening line:

"The government will order emergency checks of certain older model Boeing Co 737s for the kind of fatigue cracks that prompted Southwest Airlines Co to cancel hundreds of flights."

I wonder what they are calling 'older'.. N632SW rolled off the assembly line a year after the first B777 went into service..

BL.

Offline avalon

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Re: Southwest flight diverted to Yuma after sudden pressure loss
« Reply #16 on: April 05, 2011, 12:27:15 AM »
FAA will issue emergency directive on Tuesday, requiring inspections of certain Boeing 737-300, -400 and -500 aircraft that have more than 30,000 flight cycles.  

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/04/us-southwest-faa-idUSTRE73362V20110404

Opening line:

"The government will order emergency checks of certain older model Boeing Co 737s for the kind of fatigue cracks that prompted Southwest Airlines Co to cancel hundreds of flights."

I wonder what they are calling 'older'.. N632SW rolled off the assembly line a year after the first B777 went into service..

BL.



The FAA press release states the following: "The FAA airworthiness directive will require initial inspections using electromagnetic, or eddy-current, technology in specific areas of the aircraft fuselage on certain Boeing 737 aircraft in the -300, -400 and -500 series that have accumulated more than 30,000 flight cycles. It will then require repetitive inspections at regular intervals."

https://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=12621

Offline cptbrw

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Re: Southwest flight diverted to Yuma after sudden pressure loss
« Reply #17 on: April 05, 2011, 02:08:03 PM »
FAA will issue emergency directive on Tuesday, requiring inspections of certain Boeing 737-300, -400 and -500 aircraft that have more than 30,000 flight cycles.  

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/04/us-southwest-faa-idUSTRE73362V20110404

Opening line:

"The government will order emergency checks of certain older model Boeing Co 737s for the kind of fatigue cracks that prompted Southwest Airlines Co to cancel hundreds of flights."

I wonder what they are calling 'older'.. N632SW rolled off the assembly line a year after the first B777 went into service..

BL.



I believe the term "old" is misleading as it appears the major factor is really flight cycles.

Offline joeyb747

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Re: Southwest flight diverted to Yuma after sudden pressure loss
« Reply #18 on: April 05, 2011, 03:30:19 PM »
FAA will issue emergency directive on Tuesday, requiring inspections of certain Boeing 737-300, -400 and -500 aircraft that have more than 30,000 flight cycles.  

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/04/us-southwest-faa-idUSTRE73362V20110404

Opening line:

"The government will order emergency checks of certain older model Boeing Co 737s for the kind of fatigue cracks that prompted Southwest Airlines Co to cancel hundreds of flights."

I wonder what they are calling 'older'.. N632SW rolled off the assembly line a year after the first B777 went into service..

BL.



I believe the term "old" is misleading as it appears the major factor is really flight cycles.

...well used would be a better way to put it...  8-) 

Offline NoMad

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Re: Southwest flight diverted to Yuma after sudden pressure loss
« Reply #19 on: April 05, 2011, 03:33:25 PM »
Most people also don't realize most of the private and commercial A/C buzzing around over their heads are 30-40 years old.  In plane years, that is a mature adult.  In car years, that is a rusted out piece of junk.  Most people only know car years.

Offline joeyb747

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Re: Southwest flight diverted to Yuma after sudden pressure loss
« Reply #20 on: April 05, 2011, 03:44:07 PM »
Most people also don't realize most of the private and commercial A/C buzzing around over their heads are 30-40 years old.

This chart is an eye-opener...average fleet age of FAR 121 Air Carriers. The chart says it is out of date, but still it gives you an idea...

http://av-info.faa.gov/GetFleetAge.asp

See also, Average fleet age for select U.S. Carriers:

http://www.airsafe.com/events/airlines/fleetage.htm

Sidenote...the AvHerald Article has been updated, including a the NTSB Press Briefing:

http://www.avherald.com/h?article=43a4ac26&opt=0

« Last Edit: April 05, 2011, 03:50:29 PM by joeyb747 »

Offline avalon

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Re: Southwest flight diverted to Yuma after sudden pressure loss
« Reply #21 on: April 05, 2011, 08:02:27 PM »
"A senior Boeing Co. engineer said Tuesday that Southwest Airlines Co., which works its planes longer each day than other airlines, wasn't to blame for metal fatigue that led to a hole in the roof of a jet last week."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014692588_apussouthwestplanes4thldwritethru.html

Offline joeyb747

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