Southwest 737. What's age got to do with it?

Just about everyone has heard about the incident involving a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737. When a piece of the fuselage tears off at 34-thousand feet it's a scary thing. Blue skies are better seen from a beach than your passenger seat.

All this, justifiably, has resulted in a lot of media coverage. We're a nation of fliers and chances are you've flown in a 737 at least once. A popular and very safe aircraft. I sure wish more of the reporting focused on how the flight crew landed the aircraft safely. The folks in the cockpit, and the team in the cabin train all the time for just this sort of thing. It's exactly why everyone lived to tell the tale.

Sadly, some news outlets have gone to extremes, one east coast operation used the term "Death Trap" in a news tease about the story. I guess the goal was to scare their viewers to death. But most media are at least trying to avoid sensationalism and stick to facts. That's a good thing.

One issue that comes up in a lot of the stories is the age of the aircraft. Age isn't the issue. In the past couple of years I've flown in a Ford Tri-Motor which was built in 1927. Another flight was in a WWII B-17 Bomber.

I made it back safe and sound. The aircraft are in great shape and well-maintained. The crews that fly them are very, very well trained.

Actually, an aircraft's age is based on "cycles." Cycles meaning the number of times a plane takes off and lands. When an airlines takes off, there is stress on the airframe. Cabin pressurization causes expansion and contraction of the airframe. A landing also puts stress on the airframe and landing gear. Sometimes turbulence makes for some bending of the wings. You've likely seen it.

Aircraft design allows for all this. If wasn't some "bend" involved in aircraft design, airplane parts would simply snap off. In the case of the Southwest 737, a piece tore off.

So what happened to that Southwest plane? Investigators will find out. If maintenance changes need to be made they will be. Stuff breaks sometimes, even on airplanes.

Flying remains an incredibly safe way to get from here to there and back again. The real danger of flying is the drive to and from the airport. If cars and drivers were held to the same standards as commercial aviation the world be be a far safer place for all of us.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters Public Relations
"We start the conversation about you"