FAA investigates after Southwest plane crashes within ‘400 feet’ of Pacific Ocean | Aviation Industry

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is currently investigating after a Southwest Airlines plane reportedly crashed mid-flight at an altitude of 400 feet above the Pacific Ocean.

A memo distributed to Southwest pilots, obtained by Bloomberg, said the Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed off the coast of Hawaii at a speed of 4,000 feet per minute and came within a few hundred feet of sea level before returning to safety.

News of the incident came after investigators said a Boeing 737 Max 8 operated by Southwest suffered significant damage when it performed a “Dutch roll” during a flight from Phoenix to Oakland in May.

The crash off the coast of Hawaii occurred on April 11 in adverse weather conditions. The plane was en route from Honolulu to Lihue when it experienced the rapid descent, Bloomberg reported. According to the report, the plane reached an altitude of about 400 feet above sea level during the descent, according to data from a flight tracking website.

No one was injured. “Nothing is more important to Southwest than safety,” the airline said in a press release. “Our robust safety management system ensured the incident was addressed appropriately as we always strive for continuous improvement.”

The FAA told CNN it was immediately aware of the incident and launched an investigation. The plane was eventually diverted to Honolulu.

In another case, Bloomberg reported on Friday that a Boeing 737 Max suffered damage to parts of the aircraft’s structure during a Southwest Airlines flight in May when the plane entered a “Dutch roll” position.

The incident occurred as the plane was flying from Arizona to California at 34,000 feet. The Associated Press reported that the plane landed safely, but said Southwest did not notify the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) that the plane had rolled over or been damaged until June 7.

“Following the incident, SWA performed maintenance on the airplane and discovered damage to structural components,” the NTSB said.

In a Dutch roll, the tail of the aircraft slides from side to side, rocking the aircraft so that the wings move up and down.

An FAA report said “significant” damage was found to a unit that controls the emergency power supply to the plane’s rudder. It is unclear what triggered the incident, which was the latest involving a Boeing 737 Max aircraft.

In January, the FAA ordered nearly 200 Boeing 737 Max 9s to be grounded after a fuselage part flew off the plane during flight. After a comprehensive inspection and maintenance, the planes were allowed to fly again.

Last year, Southwest agreed to pay a record-breaking civil penalty of $140 million after a holiday cancellation stranded two million passengers at U.S. airports in December 2022. The airline canceled 8,000 flights in four days following a winter storm.

The U.S. Department of Transportation found that Southwest violated consumer protection laws by failing to provide adequate customer service “to hundreds of thousands of customers through its call center,” failed to promptly inform more than a million passengers of flight status, and failed to provide prompt refunds to thousands of them.