Video of the Day: SNL jokes about Southwest plane accident

by Mike Barish on

Southwest Airlines has had some troubles recently, including an incident where the roof of one of their planes just, you know, started to tear away from the rest of the aircraft. On this past weekend’s episode of Saturday Night Live, Weekend Update welcomed a flight attendant from that damaged flight. Well, it was the talented Kristin Wiig portraying one of the Dallas-based airline’s employees. Seeing as how the plane landed safely and there was only one reported injury (to a flight attendant, though), we see nothing wrong with cracking a few jokes about the situation. Besides, it’s about time we all got to see those oxygen masks put to use.

Was the skit out of bounds? Did you get a laugh out of it? Let us know in the comments.

Southwest grounds planes, investigation underway

by Chris Owen on

As a result of Sacramento bound Southwest Airlines flight 812 making an emergency descent Friday night after a large hole appeared in the fuselage, 79 Southwest planes have been grounded.

While no one was seriously injured Friday as the Southwest flight carrying over 100 people rapidly lost cabin pressure and made scary descent from 34,500 feet, landing safely in Arizona, questions about maintenance of the aircraft are being asked.

The Associated Press reports that a review of Federal Aviation Administration records of maintenance problems for the 15-year-old plane showed that “in March 2010 at least eight instances were found of cracking in the aircraft frame, which is part of the fuselage. The records showed that those cracks were repaired.”

“The safety of our Customers and Employees is our primary concern,” said Mike Van de Ven, Southwest’s executive vice president and chief operating officer in a statement on Southwest’s web site. “We are working closely with Boeing to conduct these proactive inspections and support the investigation. We also are working aggressively to attempt to minimize the impact to our Customers’ travel schedules today.”

Southwest is working with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing, builder of the aircraft to determine the cause.

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Flickr photo by gTarded

BREAKING: Southwest Airlines jet lands with fuselage hole

by Scott Carmichael on

Sacramento bound Southwest Airlines flight 812 made an emergency descent this evening after a large hole appeared in the fuselage. The photo above was shot by a passenger on the plane who described the event in great detail on her Twitter account.

According to Flightaware.com, the plane dropped 16,000 feet in one minute, and some passengers reportedly passed out due to lack of oxygen from the rapid decompression. Despite the major damage, only one flight attendant was injured.

The hole is at least three feet long, and exposed wiring and other airplane parts. According to CNN, the FAA is sending a team to Yuma International Airport to inspect the plane.

Passenger Shawna MalviniRedden has more photos on her Twitter account, including one of the pilot of the plane and the view from her seat.

This is not the first time a Southwest Airlines plane has suffered damage like this — in 2009, another Boeing 737 had to make an emergency landing when a “football sized” hole appeared. That incident prompted a fleet wide check of all 737’s.

Before you break out in a panic and start booking train tickets, remember that this plane had a three foot gash, and still held together perfectly. Kudos to the flight crew for bringing the plane down safely.

According to a source, the plane in question was a Boeing 737-3H4 which entered service with Southwest in 1996.

Photo courtesy of @BluestMuse/Twitpic

Southwest Airlines pilot saves the day – turns screaming boy into honorary pilot

by Scott Carmichael on

We all know that flying has its challenges – and most of us know that flying when trapped inside the metal tube with a screaming kid only helps make things worse. That was the prospect facing passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight from Houston to San Antonio earlier this week.

When Captain Joe Gautille was preparing for his flight, he heard the screams of three year old Alex coming down the jet bridge.

At many other airlines, he would have ignored it and finished his work, but the captain on this flight walked back to Alex and his parents and invited the kid to visit the cockpit. Apparently, little Alex was scared to fly as his incoming flight had been very rocky due to some turbulence.

After a couple of minutes up front (with the captains hat on), Alex was completely relaxed – and the passengers could fly to San Antonio without having to endure a screaming kid (at least not this one).

We’ve seen more stories like this in the past from Southwest Airlines — something about their proactive attitude and friendly actions just seems to bring out the best in people.

You’ll find the entire story over at the Southwest Airlines blog – Nuts About Southwest.

[Photo: Southwest Airlines Blog/Captain Joe Gautille]

Twenty free iTunes downloads – courtesy of Southwest Airlines InAirtainment

by Scott Carmichael on

What better way to end the work week than snagging twenty free song downloads from iTunes, courtesy of Southwest Airlines?

To celebrate forty years of flying and the launch of their new InAirtainment portal, Southwest put together a list of artists “about to fly”. In the lineup, you’ll find songs from artists like Laura Jansen and a personal favorite of mine – Ellie Goulding.

To get your iTunes promo code, head on over to the Southwest Airlines InAirtenment page and click on the large iTunes banner. You can read more about the promo on the excellent Nuts About Southwest blog.