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Southwest Plane Forced to Land After Cabin Window Breaks in Air Southwest Plane Forced to Land After Cabin Window Breaks in Air
(about 7 hours later)
A Southwest Airlines flight was forced to divert and land before reaching its intended destination on Wednesday after a pane in one of the cabin windows was damaged in flight.A Southwest Airlines flight was forced to divert and land before reaching its intended destination on Wednesday after a pane in one of the cabin windows was damaged in flight.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it was investigating what caused the window, which was on an exit row, to break. The plane, which was traveling from Chicago to Newark, landed in Cleveland at 11:45 a.m., although the damage did not affect the pressure inside the plane, Southwest said. The Federal Aviation Administration said it was investigating what had caused the window, which was on an exit row, to break. The plane, which was traveling from Chicago to Newark, landed in Cleveland at 11:45 a.m., although the damage did not affect the pressure inside the plane, Southwest said.
The airline said that the Boeing 737 had been taken out of service so that maintenance teams could investigate and that the 76 passengers aboard the flight would be flown to Newark on another plane. The airline said that the Boeing 737 was taken out of service so that maintenance teams could investigate, and that it did not yet know exactly what had happened to the window.
Airplane windows generally have multiple plexiglass layers, and the airline said the damage had only affected one layer. In an email, Southwest said it regularly inspects windows on its aircraft for clarity and condition and replaces them as needed. The window that broke was last inspected in April.
The episode comes just two weeks after a more serious one involved another Boeing 737 operated by Southwest. In that instance, a fan blade in one of the plane’s engines broke apart mid-flight, sending debris into the fuselage and through a cabin window. The 76 passengers aboard the flight were flown to Newark on another plane.
As the cabin rapidly lost pressure, the passenger sitting next to the window, Jennifer Riordan, was partially pulled out. The plane, which had departed from La Guardia Airport in New York and was bound for Dallas made an emergency landing in Philadelphia. Ms. Riordan was later declared dead. The episode occurred just two weeks after a more serious one involving another Boeing 737 operated by Southwest. In that instance, a fan blade in one of the plane’s engines broke apart midflight, sending debris into the fuselage and through a cabin window.
As the cabin rapidly lost pressure, the passenger sitting next to the window, Jennifer Riordan, was partly pulled out. The plane, which had departed from La Guardia Airport in New York and was bound for Dallas, made an emergency landing in Philadelphia. Ms. Riordan was later declared dead.
The F.A.A. has ordered inspections of the engine type involved in that episode.The F.A.A. has ordered inspections of the engine type involved in that episode.
Cal DeNyse, who was on the Southwest flight that was diverted on Wednesday, said that although he heard other passengers talking about the episode last month, people on the plane were fairly calm during the episode.
“People just remained in their seats and waited for further instructions,” he said, adding that members of the plane’s crew had done a great job of keeping passengers informed and comfortable. “Only a few people were really upset, and the staff was right there to comfort them.”
Mr. DeNyse said that immediately after the damage occurred, he heard gasps and saw a few passengers move away from the window. Over all, though, he described the flight as mostly normal. He said he could feel the plane slow down and descend after the damage occurred. He arrived in Newark only about an hour and a half behind schedule.
Airplane windows typically have multiple acrylic layers. To deal with the rigors of flight, their curve follows the shape of the fuselage, and their rounded edges make them less susceptible to stress-induced damage.
Southwest said the damage to the window on Wednesday had affected only one layer.
Jim Lee, the founder and chief executive of Lee Aerospace of Wichita, Kan., said plane windows are built to weather that kind of damage.
“On the 737, there’s two, there’s an outer ply and an inner ply.” said Mr. Lee, whose company makes and repairs airplane windows. Until 1994, he said, Lee Aerospace produced windows on the 737. “Either one of those windows is strong enough to hold the pressure.”
Each pane of an airplane window, he said, is designed to withstand two to four times the amount of pressure it would normally experience while in flight.
“That outer pane that cracked is generally the one that day in and day out is taking the pressure of the aircraft,” Mr. Lee said. The inner one “sits there and just prepares for that outer one to break. And when that outer one breaks, it takes over the pressure. It did a good job.”
He said it was understandable that passengers would worry when a window was damaged, but the window was made with such problems in mind. “When that outer pane fails, although it’s going to startle somebody,” it is not dangerous, he said.
Mr. Lee said he expected investigators to be able to determine what had happened fairly easily.
“They’ll be able to take that window and analyze it under a microscope and understand if it was fatigued over time or what the failure may have been,” he said.