The Federal Aviation Administration finalized its plan Monday to require inspection of older Boeing 737 models to prevent incidents similar to what happened to a Southwest Airlines Co. jet in July.
A football-size hole opened at the top of the Southwest plane's fuselage during a flight from Nashville to Baltimore. No one was injured.
Older planes must be inspected within 35 days starting today; if no cracks are found, the jets must be reinspected every 500 cycles, or flights. Airlines have the option of installing reinforcing metal to back the area in question on top of the fuselage.
The notice affects 135 older 737s. Dallas-based Southwest said that it had already complied with the inspections suggested in September and that the checks affected 70 of its 541 aircraft.
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