Southwest Airlines was forced to ground 34 jets just as the busy Thanksgiving holiday travel period kicked in.
According to the Chicago Business Journal, the airline had failed to complete the necessary safety paperwork following previous repairs.
Due to the violation of FAA safety rules, Southwest conducted immediate, detailed visual inspections of the planes before returning to service.
All were Boeing 737-700s.
Southwest said the paperwork snafu had a ‘minimal’ effect on its operations.
It operated 4,100 flights on Thanksgiving Eve even with the groundings.
The DOT inspector general is still investigating the FAA’s relationship with Southwest and its oversight of the airline’s safety and maintenance performance.
That followed Southwest’s first ever fatal accident when a passenger died mid-flight when she was partially sucked out of the aircraft when an engine fan blade snapped.
