Southwest Under FAA Investigation for Weight Miscalculations
US Federal Aviation Administration is investigating how Southwest Airlines tracks the weight of checked bags on its flights. The investigation was revealed yesterday by The Wall Street Journal which also added that it started about a year ago, in February 2018.
The news came after FAA officials and agency documents indicated airline employees made mistakes that caused pilots to compute the wrong weight of planes at takeoffs. The errors by Southwest employees were described as “systemic and significant,” occasionally causing the reported takeoff weights to be 1,000 pounds lower than the plane’s actual weight.
Southwest Airlines differs from many of its U.S. competitors in its practice of relying on its ground crew to hand count bags rather than using a computer scanner.
The weight miscalculations are not an imminent threat to passengers, as airlines usually build add a percentage to the weight to account for error. But in cases of emergencies, the extra weight could make it harder for aircraft to take off or land.
The news of the FAA investigation comes as Southwest is already dealing with a state of “operational emergency” due to a labor dispute with mechanics.
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I have full trust in Southwest Airlines. I fly 8-10 times a year and every flight was smooth flying.