Southwest forced to ground planes

Southwest Airlines, one of the few American airline success stories, has pulled 79 of its workhorse Boeing 737 aircraft out of service after one of those planes made an emergency landing with a gaping hole in the fuselage.

Passengers on Southwest’s Friday Flight 812 from Phoenix (the airline’s hub) and Sacramento said they heard a loud noise and then a hole suddenly appeared above their heads.

The pilot quickly got the plane under control and landed at a nearby military base in Yuma, Arizona.
The disruption in service will cost Southwest millions of dollars and if the planes are out of service for any length of time while stress tests are done, the airline – one of the few profitable U.S. carriers – could be in trouble.