Aviation authorities in the United States have ordered emergency checks on older Boeing 737-300/400/500 series following Friday’s midair rupture of the fuselage skin on a Southwest Airline flight.
The action by the US Federal Aviation Authority will “initially apply to a total of approximately 175 aircraft worldwide, 80 of which are US-registered aircraftâ€.
Most of the US-registered aircraft are operated by Southwest.
US transportation secretary Ray LaHood called the April 1 incident “very serious”.
Three more SWA 737s were grounded on Monday after inspections revealed small, subsurface cracks similar to the ones suspected in the fuselage tear on another of its planes.
