Southwest grounds 2 more jets over cracks

By Jewel Samad, AFP/Getty Images

The 5-foot-long fuselage skin taken from the Southwest Airlines accident aircraft is shown at the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington, April 5.

EnlargeCloseBy Jewel Samad, AFP/Getty Images

The 5-foot-long fuselage skin taken from the Southwest Airlines accident aircraft is shown at the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington, April 5.

The airline said it discovered "minor subsurface cracking" on the aluminum skin on the Boeing 737-300s. The five jets have been taken out of service until Boeing can recommend how to repair them.

METAL FATIGUE: Experts say it is a rare riskAfter a weekend in which hundreds of its flights were canceled while the airline conducted inspections, Southwest said it has resumed normal service.

The inspections were triggered by an incident on Southwest Flight 812 from Phoenix to Sacramento. A 5-foot-long section of the aircraft's skin on the fuselage above the wing ripped open at 34,000 feet.

The sudden loss of cabin pressure forced the pilots to don oxygen masks and rapidly descend to lower altitudes. One flight attendant was injured, but none of the 118 passengers was hurt.

Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board found a number of cracks on a line of rivets where two sections of the fuselage skin were connected. Those cracks appear to have weakened the skin, said NTSB board member Robert Sumwalt.

The discovery prompted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing to require inspections on a small portion of the 737 fleet manufactured during the 1980s and 1990s. Out of the 80 such planes operated in the United States, Southwest owns 78. Alaska Airlines flies the other two.

NTSB Chairman Debbie Hersman said she was "very pleased" by the rapid response to the incident by Southwest, Boeing and the FAA.

The agency displayed the section of torn fuselage at its Washington, D.C., metals lab Tuesday. The jet's skin tore along a line of rivets that ran from the front to the rear of the jet, leaving a jagged edge flapping loose above the upper fuselage.

Southwest completed inspections of the 737-300s covered by the FAA before the agency could issue the formal order. "With our knowledge of what the FAA had planned, we believe the

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