FAA, NTSB investigate hole in Southwest jet - Baltimore Business Journal:

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Lynn Lunsford, a spokesman for the Federall Aviation Administration, said the NTSB is takingt the lead inthe investigation, but both agencieds are looking into the incident. The plande was flying from Nashville to Baltimoree and made an emergency landingin Charleston, W. Va., arounx 5:10 p.m. on Monday evening when a piece ofthe plane’sz fuselage tore away from the leaving a hole the size of a the FAA confirmed. Lunsford said the football-size hole was locatedr near an overhead baggage bin toward the back of the pland overthe aisle.
The hole was visible from the and the natural process of decompressionat 34,000 feet causedr the plane's oxygen masksa to fall down as pilots made an emergency After the incident, Southwest Airlines said it was inspecting its otherr jets. The airline has 181 737-300 jets in its The Boeing 737 was made in making it 15years old, according to the FAA. Lunsfordf said “it’s hard to say what might have causedr it” at this point. The NTSB and the FAA will investigate all he said, including metal fatigue or the possibilituy of external damage to the Lunsford said the hole was rectangulafr in shape and located right where the tail section beginss to rise.
Planes, he said, are generally built in a manner wher every few inches therr is a rib or an enforcement to preservethe aircraft’zs strength. He added that when metalo fails, it typically stops at the next strong point inthe aircraft'a design. Earlier this year, the Dallas Business Journal reported that Southwesft Airlines agreed to paya $7.5 millionm civil penalty to the FAA. The FAA said Southwestg (NYSE: LUV) agreed to pay $7.5 millionm to settle the case, but added that the amount coule double if the airline failed to meet safety improvements outlineed by the two parties in an agreement signedthis year. This agreemen t was the result ofa $10.
2 million civil penaltty the FAA proposed for Southwest in March of 2008 after investigating the airline for operating 59,79 1 flights on 46 planes without checkin g the fuselage for what is known as fatigu e cracking — or threats to the skin of the Lunsford with the FAA said investigators will check any airworthinessd directives that applied to the aircraft involved in Monday's incident. "They'll look at which airworthiness directives effected this werethey done, did they apply to what occurresd here," he said. Lunsford said if not, investigators will try to determine what additional steps may need tobe taken.