Skift Take

Southwest is the second carrier to be under an FAA audit this year due to a series of widely-reported safety incidents.

Meghna Maharishi

The Federal Aviation Administration is launching an audit of Southwest Airlines after a string of safety incidents, the carrier confirmed to Skift. 

Some incidents during the past few months include one where the plane flew too low and another where a plane took off from a closed runway. 

Southwest said it is working closely with the FAA. The carrier has also formed a group of Southwest leaders, union members and representatives from the FAA to strengthen its current safety management system.

“This group is tasked with performing an in-depth, data-driven analysis to identify any opportunities for improvement,” Southwest said in a statement. “Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees.”

The FAA said in a statement to Skift that it is increasing its oversight of Southwest to ensure the airline is complying with federal safety regulations. “Safety will drive the timeline” of the investigation, the FAA said.

A String of Incidents

One of Southwest’s most recent incidents involved a plane flying as low as 150 feet over water while it was still around 5 miles away from landing at the airport in Tampa. The pilots then landed in Fort Lauderdale instead. The FAA is also investigating that incident. 

The agency is also looking into a Southwest flight that plunged several feet into the ocean off the coast of Hawaii in April. 

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a Southwest plane that did a “Dutch roll” during a flight from Phoenix to Oakland. A “Dutch roll” is when a tail slides and the plane rocks side to side. 

United Airlines faced a similar audit earlier this year. As a result, United had to delay the launch of two international routes.