The Federal Aviation Administration has put Southwest Airlines under heightened safety surveillance after a number of recent near-miss safety issues.
The FAA has increased oversight of Southwest’s flight operations ‘to ensure it is complying with federal safety regulations,’ the agency said.
This will be for an open-ended period.
“Safety will drive the timeline.”
Last spring, a flight from Honolulu came dangerously close to plunging into the sea due to a pilot error.
Southwest later said it ’addressed the incident appropriately.’
There has been a spate of near miss incidents at airports involving multiple airlines and United Airlines was put under a similar safety review after several incidents.
The FAA itself has been scrutinized by the Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General for its oversight of maintenance practices at several airlines including Southwest.
