FAA tapes show SWA pilot’s quick action in 737 mishap

Published 1:07 pm Wednesday, July 6, 2011

The FAA released audio recordings on Wednesday of the emergency landing made by a Southwest Airlines pilot in April of a Boeing Co. 737 jet.

Boeing officials later said the rip in the fuselage was caused by workmanship problems.

Watch the AP video or read the report below:

A Southwest Airlines pilot didn’t wait around for approval from air traffic controllers before beginning an emergency dive after a hole ripped open in the plane’s roof.

“We’ve lost the cabin,” the pilot told controllers after the April 1 emergency. “We’re starting down.”

The pilot asked the controllers for permission to drop to 10,000 feet after the hole caused rapid decompression in the passenger cabin of the Boeing 737 as it cruised high over Arizona.

One of the controllers on the dramatic audio recordings released Wednesday by the Federal Aviation Administration can be heard relaying the pilot’s request to descend to another controller.

When the second controller hesitated, the first replied, “He’s doing it anyway.”

The pilot guided the plane to a safe landing at a military base in Yuma, Ariz. There were no major
injuries.

The air traffic control recordings provide a new look at the tense early minutes after the roof ripped open
on the Southwest jet shortly after takeoff from Phoenix.

The pilot quickly declared an emergency and put his jetliner in a descent when its fuselage ruptured at more than 34,000 feet. Controllers scrambled to make sure there were no other planes in the Southwest jet’s
path as the pilot made the harrowing, four-minute descent.

The pilot began turning back toward Phoenix. Then a controller noted that the plane was 50 miles from
Yuma.

“We’ll take Yuma,” the pilot responded quickly.

“OK, change of plans,” another controller said. “Southwest (Flight) 812’s going to Yuma now; he
couldn’t make Phoenix.”