I read this morning’s Wall Street Journal and noted a story in the Personal Journal section on Southwest having issues with some inspections last March and possible fines being levied. As I read it, the story seemed pretty simple and to the point: some inspections were missed in March of last year, who was at fault for the missed inspections wasn’t clear and Southwest reported it themselves and had the aircraft inspected within 10 days. I was just flipping through my RSS reader and saw the headline on the CNN home page “Southwest Flies Unsafe Planes” – seems like a pretty big leap from missed inspections to “unsafe”…

I read the CNN article, and it goes on about whistle blowers and lax or overly helpful inspectors granting leeway, and the “unsafe” quote comes from a congressman and a whistle blower’s statement. Certainly an allegation and not a statement from the FAA.

Heck I am the first to be concerned about air safety (just look through my blog), but this just doesn’t sound like the Southwest I know.

Southwest actually sent my wife 2 free tickets several years back notifying her of a near miss incident she didn’t even know about. Their culture is one of customer service and transparency. It just doesn’t make any sense.

As I read through the CNN story I am left wanting some “Beef” in the reporting:

1. Why didn’t a penalty get imposed last March, why now? What triggered this a year later?
2. Did the reporters check to see if any other airlines missed inspections in the last 10 years? Is this common, Is it unusual, has any airline ever had planes grounded for missed inspections?
3. What is the relationship between inspectors in airlines, is it collegial, is it arms length?
4. How do we prevent this from occurring again? The rules were put in place for a reason? Were inspectors making an “on the ground” call was there leeway in the policy?
5. Why would southwest put the public, it’s pilots and flight attendants at risk, what could possibly justify anyone flying “unsafe” planes.

This story and the subsequent reporting disturbs me, and I hope that someone does a better job digging into this and not just grand standing for a big headline. The issue deserves more …

Guaranteed most people will only read the word “unsafe” and the real story behind this will just become a footnote – unfortunately.