FLIGHTS CANCELED ACROSS U.S. DUE TO ENGINE INSPECTIONS

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By Miriam Raftery

April 23, 2018 (San Diego) – If you’re traveling by air, be sure to check with the airline before heading to the airport.  The FAA has ordered emergency inspections on 352 airplane engines in the U.S. similar to the engine that exploded in mid-flight last week, killing a passenger aboard a Southwest flight from New York to Dallas. 

Several Southwest flights to or from San Diego have been cancelled due to the ultrasound engine inspections, and more flights are possible, the airline has indicated. Nationwide, Southwest cancelled 40 flights on Monday alone.

Worldwide, an estimated 681 planes use the same type of engine. Inspectors are focusing on fan blades that broke apart during Flight 1380’s ill-fated journey, in which a passenger was partially sucked out a window when the engine exploded.  The plane cabin depressurized and the plane dropped sharply.

If not for the swift actions of the pilot, who previously served as one of the first women combat pilots in the military, the death toll could have been far worse, aviation experts have indicated.


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