All 128 737-700 Airplanes Cleared To Fly

Southwest Airlines has completed maintenance checks of a backup hydraulic system aboard all but one of the 128 737-700 airplanes that had been briefly grounded last Tuesday.

The airline voluntarily grounded the airplanes when it was discovered that they had missed required maintenance checks, but then struck a deal with the FAA to have the inspections completed within five days. That allowed many of the planes to get back in the air. In all, about 100 flights were cancelled, most of them last Tuesday, according to the Dallas Morning News aviation blog.

Southwest posted a notice on their website March 2 saying that as of that date, "127 of 128 aircraft identified as having been overdue for a maintenance check on a standby hydraulic system have the required check completed. The lone remaining aircraft, undergoing scheduled heavy maintenance, will have the check before returning to service. Southwest successfully completed checks on all in-service aircraft within the approved five-day timeline set forth by the FAA."

(Image from file)

FMI: www.southwest.com