Aviation attorney calls for immediate grounding of all Boeing 737-700 aircraft

Aviation attorney Robert A. Clifford is calling for the grounding of all Boeing 737-700 aircraft in the wake of the second uncontained engine failure (UEF) of a 17-year-old Southwest Airlines 737-700 in less than 20 months.

Clifford, founder and senior partner of Clifford Law Offices of Chicago, represents a number of passengers injured in a fire after a similar UEF on an American Airlines 767 at O'Hare Airport in October 2016.

In August, 2016, Southwest Airlines Flight 3472 from New Orleans to Orlando experienced a UEF of the same engine (CFM56-7) involved in the UEF tragedy on Southwest Airlines Flight 1380. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has not completed its investigation into Flight 3472 but in August of 2017 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to require fan disk inspections on all CFM56-7 engines as a result of the NTSB's findings to date. Such inspections might have prevented the tragedy on Flight 1380 and Southwest Airlines and CFM  International (engine manufacturer) should not have waited negligently for the FAA to issue this notice before taking action to prevent death and injury, according to Clifford.

The NTSB already has revealed that a fan blade is missing from one of the engines on Flight 1380, leading to now two UEFs due to CFM56-7 fan disk failures in less than 20 months, and an innocent mother of two is dead because of it, the law firm said in a statement.

“The flying public does not have another 20 months for the NTSB and FAA to take action - the 737-700 fleet must be grounded until each airplane's engines are inspected for such fan disk flaws and an acceptable longer-term inspection and replacement plan is finalized,” Clifford said. “This is drastic action but we now have positive proof of the deadly and negligent consequences of not doing so.”

Clifford served as co-lead counsel in yet another similar UEF accident involving United Airlines Flight 232 where an engine exploded in mid air in July, 1989, and the DC-10 wide body airliner crash landed at Sioux City, Iowa, killing a number of people and injuring my more as it chartwheeled in flames down the runway.

"The General Electric/Safran CFM56 engines and 737-700 airplanes they are mounted on are just too dangerous to remain in the air until immediate initial inspections of each and every engine is conducted and a longer-term safety plan is implemented." Clifford said.

Clifford explained that the FAA should also consider changing airliner design requirements to provide better fuselage and passenger protection from UEF parts via tougher skin and window designs adjacent to the rotating parts of engines.

On Tuesday, Southwest Airlines announced that it is accelerating its existing engine inspection program relating to the CFM56 engine family. “The accelerated inspections are being performed out of an abundance of caution and are expected to be completed over the next 30 days,” Southwest Airlines said in a statement on their website. “The accelerated checks are ultrasonic inspections of fan blades of the CFM56 engines.” The airline expects minimal disruption to the operation during the course of the inspections.

Southwest Airlines begins Cuba service from Florida

Southwest Airlines inaugurated service between South Florida and Cuba on Sunday with the scheduled 11:00 a.m. EST departure of Flight 3914 to Varadero from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Over 140 passengers and a crew of five Southwest employees donned Cuban-style hats as the aircraft departed to an orchestra playing Caribbean music.

Steve Goldberg, Southwest Airlines' vice president of Ground Operations, announced the airline intends to begin daily service from Fort Lauderdale to Santa Clara, Cuba, on Dec. 15, subject to requisite approvals of the Cuban government. "By the end of this year, we'll offer six daily round trips between two Florida gateways and three Cuban cities as the work continues to open a new, five-gate international concourse in Fort Lauderdale next summer,” Goldberg said.

On Oct.13, Southwest announced its flight schedule of new nonstop service between Florida and both Varadero and Havana. Cuba is the ninth country served by Southwest. Service between Havana and both Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Tampa International Airport begins Dec. 12, subject to requisite approvals of the Cuban government.

Southwest Airlines celebrates inaugural service at Long Beach Airport

Southwest Airlines Co., the carrier offering more seats than any other carrier each day to, from, and within California, embarked upon a new chapter in a faithful 35-year partnership with California travelers Sunday. Southwest celebrates inaugural service at Long Beach Airport, the carrier's 98^th city served, now offering service in all five major commercial airports in the L.A. Basin with four flights a day to and from the Bay Area nonstop between Long Beach and Oakland.

"Southwest's arrival in Long Beach brings much needed competition not just with our unique value and unparalleled customer service, but with unmatched access to the rest of the country through our Oakland gateway," said Paul Cullen, Southwest Airlines' Vice President of Corporate Planning and Financial Planning and Analysis, at a morning news conference. "The initial schedule for Long Beach offers long reach with easy connections to 19 cities through our four flights a day to Oakland."

Beginning Sunday, Southwest offers a peak summer schedule of nearly 60 flights a day in each direction between Oakland and Southern California's five airports in the greater L.A. region, plus San Diego. Last week, Southwest filed an application for route authority to add new daily international service later this year from LAX to Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, and San Jose del Cabo/Los Cabos in Mexico, alongside daily service to Costa Rica which began in April. Southwest also flies internationally from John Wayne Airport in Orange County to Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, and San Jose del Cabo/Los Cabos.

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Southwest Airlines continues major flight expansion from Dallas

Southwest Airlines on Wednesday began operating more time-saving daily itineraries between Dallas Love Field and nine additional cities around the United States (Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis, Ind.; Memphis, Tenn.; Milwaukee, Wis.; Panama City Beach, Fla.; Portland, Ore.; Sacramento, Calif.; San Jose, Calif.; and Seattle, Wash.) and will launch Saturday-only flights between Dallas and Charleston, S.C., this week.

"These flights continue a major expansion of our offerings from Love Field," said Bob Jordan, Southwest Airlines' Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. "By the end of the summer, we'll be operating service to 50 destinations nonstop in nearly every region of the country from Dallas."

In addition, Southwest began additional flights between Dallas and Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood, Oakland (San Francisco Bay Area), and Santa Ana/Orange County. The carrier also initiated daily service between San Antonio and Cancun, and between Kansas City International Airport and New York LaGuardia.

Southwest operates more than 3,400 flights a day, serving 94 destinations across the United States and six additional countries. Southwest service to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, begins in June; and subject to government approvals, service to Belize City, Belize begins in October.

Southwest Airlines launches to Central America and flies new Caribbean route

Southwest Airlines inaugurated two international routes Saturday that brought new long-haul service for customers using two of the carrier's growing gateways, Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and William P. Hobby Airport in Houston. Each of the new routes is longer than 2,000 miles each-way and marks historic milestones for the carrier both by connecting Central America to the Southwest network of destinations and by offering its longest-ever nonstop scheduled service from any of Southwest's Texas Triangle of original cities of Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston.

Beginning Saturday, Southwest Airlines operates nonstop service between San Jose, Costa Rica, and Baltimore/Washington on a once daily basis, and Aruba and Houston seasonally, once every Saturday through Aug. 8.

At Houston's Hobby Airport, Southwest employees celebrated the first Aruba-bound morning departure. This is the first-ever international flying offered from Houston Hobby. This October, Southwest is scheduled to complete the construction of a $156 million international terminal project which will give Houstonians and Southwest customers from across the network access to more international destinations.

"This is just the beginning of a very big 2015 for our Houston employees and customers with an additional six destinations across three countries coming online at Hobby later this year,” said Teresa Laraba, Southwest's Senior Vice President of Customers.

Southwest Airlines adds nonstop service to San Francisco and Oakland

Southwest Airlines on Monday added new flights for customers' travel through early March, bringing two additional destinations to the carrier's complement of cities with new nonstop service to and from Dallas (Love Field). Flights between the heart of Dallas and both San Francisco International Airport and Oakland International Airport begin Jan. 6.

Along with the additions of Oakland and San Francisco, this will give Dallas customers access to a total of 33 destinations via nonstop service on Southwest Airlines by Jan. 6.

Beginning Oct. 13, Southwest will add nonstop service from Dallas (Love Field) to Baltimore/Washington, Chicago Midway, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando, and Ronald Reagan Washington National.

On Nov. 2, Southwest will add additional nonstop city offerings from Dallas (Love Field) to Atlanta, Ft. Lauderdale, Nashville, New York (LaGuardia), Phoenix, San Diego, Orange County/Santa Ana, and Tampa.

Southwest Airlines manager fired for reporting unsafe flights

A Texas-based law firm representing a former Southwest Airlines cargo manager says their client was fired for bringing to light the unsafe transportation of hazardous materials on Southwest Airlines passenger jets. The Southwest cargo manager, Jeffrey Bondurant, also began to question whether the airline was properly reporting "discrepancies" to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Just last week, the FAA proposed a $12 million fine against Southwest Airlines for faulty repairs being made to its Boeing 737 jets since 2006. "Southwest Airlines problems are not confined to repairs," said Provost Umphrey Law Firm Attorney Jane Swearingen Leger in a press statement Monday. Leger is representing Jeffrey Bondurant in a whistleblowers case against Southwest Airlines. "The lawyers at Provost Umphrey have found that Southwest Airlines has safety issues related to transporting hazardous materials on passenger planes."

In January 2012, Bondurant's work performance was evaluated as "outstanding." On Feb. 22, 2012, Bondurant discovered that Southwest Airlines had improperly shipped a package of lithium ion batteries that was not packaged or labeled correctly. Improperly packaged lithium ion batteries have resulted in fires that have downed cargo planes and killed flight crewmembers. Bondurant notified a group of five managers that the batteries had, in fact, been shipped on a Southwest Airlines passenger flight. Less than two months after bringing forth his concern, Bondurant's employment with Southwest Airlines was terminated after 23 years.

After his firing, Bondurant filed an AIR21 Complaint. The AIR21 statute protects whistleblowers in the aviation industry from discrimination in respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.

As a result of the whistleblower claims, the FAA launched an investigation into the February 2012 incident. During the FAA investigation, Southwest made statements to the FAA that are contradicted by the evidence brought forth by Bondurant's claims. On Nov. 7, 2012, the FAA sent a Notice of Proposed Civil Penalty to Southwest Airlines, recommending a $16,200 fine.

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Southwest Airlines hit with $12 million fine for aircraft repairs

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a $12 million civil penalty against Southwest Airlines for failing to comply with Federal Aviation Regulations in three separate enforcement cases related to repairs on Boeing 737 jetliners operated by the Dallas-based airline.

The FAA alleges that beginning in 2006, Southwest conducted so-called “extreme makeover” alterations to eliminate potential cracking of the aluminum skin on 44 jetliners. The FAA conducted an investigation that included both the airline and its contractor, Aviation Technical Services, Inc., (ATS) of Everett, Wash.

Investigators determined that ATS failed to follow proper procedures for replacing the fuselage skins on these aircraft. FAA investigators also determined that ATS failed to follow required procedures for placing the airplanes on jacks and stabilizing them. All of the work was done under the supervision of Southwest Airlines, which was responsible for ensuring that procedures were properly followed.

Southwest returned the jetliners to service and operated them when they were not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations, the FAA alleges. The regulatory violations charged involve numerous flights that occurred in 2009 after the FAA put the airline on notice that these aircraft were not in compliance with either FAA Airworthiness Directives or alternate, FAA-approved methods of complying with the directives. The FAA later approved the repairs after the airline provided proper documentation that the repairs met safety standards.

Southwest Airlines has 30 days from the receipt of the FAA’s civil penalty letter to respond to the allegations.

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Southwest Airlines goes international

U.S.-based Southwest Airlines launched international service on Tuesday by inaugurating flights to Caribbean destinations from three of its U.S. gateway cities.

Southwest Airlines' first international departure, Flight 1804 from Baltimore/Washington to Oranjestad, Aruba, departed ontime at 8:30 a.m. EDT, closely followed by Southwest Flight 906 to Montego Bay, Jamaica, where its first-ever scheduled international arrival was planned for just after 11 a.m. EDT. A midday flight from Baltimore/Washington to Nassau/Paradise Island also brings Southwest Airlines' legendary customer service to The Bahamas.

Customers on the carrier's inaugural international flights from Baltimore/Washington joined those in two other gateway cities of Atlanta, and Orlando who celebrated alongside employees with commemorative beach balls, snorkels and masks.

Southwest operates the largest fleet of Boeing aircraft in the world to serve 93 destinations in 40 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and five near-international countries. Some flights are operated by wholly owned subsidiary AirTran Airways.

Southwest Airlines adds Airplane Health Management system to predict maintenance issues

On Tuesday, Boeing announced that Southwest Airlines has selected Airplane Health Management (AHM) to enhance operational efficiency in its maintenance and engineering operations.

Southwest Airlines will use AHM to collect and evaluate airplane operations data while the airplane is in flight. This real-time data is used to signal ground operations crews of any potential maintenance issues before the airplane lands, minimizing flight schedule disruptions and maintenance-related delays.

Boeing technical teams will work with Southwest to facilitate initial deployment of the system for its Next-Generation 737s. Southwest is Boeing's 66th customer for AHM.

Southwest Airlines is an all-Boeing carrier and operates the largest 737 fleet of any airline. In 2011, the airline became the launch customer for the 737 MAX.

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Boeing gets order for 30 737 MAX jets

Boeing celebrated a milestone achievement Tuesday on the 737 MAX program, surpassing the 2000^th order for the single-aisle airplane. With the addition of 30 orders from unidentified customers this week, the 737 MAX now has a total of 2,010 orders from 39 customers worldwide, valued at $209 billion at list prices. The 737 MAX also has commitments for more than 250 additional airplanes.

The 737 MAX has reached 2,000 orders faster than any other Boeing airplane in history. This unprecedented demand is fueled by air traffic growth and the need for more fuel-efficient airplanes.

"Since its first order, the 737 MAX has received more than 50 percent of the new orders versus its direct competition,” said Keith Leverkuhn, vice president and general manager, 737 MAX Program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

"We have a lot of faith in Boeing and the 737 MAX, especially since this will be the narrowbody aircraft of the future for United Airlines," said United Airlines Vice President of Fleet Ron Baur.

"In addition to the latest technology LEAP-1B engines from CFM International, the MAX combines advanced aerodynamics including the Advanced Technology winglets, 787-style large screen flight deck displays and the passenger preferred Boeing Sky Interior to give customers an airplane that will enhance their fleets for decades to come,” said Leverkuhn.

The 737 MAX will be 14 percent more fuel-efficient than today's most efficient Next-Generation 737s – and 20 percent better than the original Next-Generation 737s when they first entered service, Boeing said in a company press release. “The 737 is more fuel efficient than the Airbus A320 today and will be more fuel efficient than the A320neo tomorrow. Airlines operating the 737 MAX will see an eight percent operating cost per seat advantage over the A320neo.”

On track to begin final assembly in mid-2015, the 737 MAX will fly in 2016 and deliver to launch customer Southwest Airlines in the third quarter of 2017.

Nose gear collapses on Southwest Airlines flight upon landing

Southwest Airlines flight 345 landed at New York's LaGuardia at 5:40 p.m. EDT Monday evening from Nashville. The aircraft is a Boeing 737-700. Eyewitness reports indicate the aircraft's nose gear collapsed upon landing. There were 150 people on board including customers and crew.

“Initial reports indicate local responders are caring for five customers and three flight attendants who have reported injuries at this time,” Southwest said in a press statement. Southwest is cooperating with local authorities, and the National Transportation Safety Board has been notified.

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