New problem with a plane from the US aircraft manufacturer Boeing: A 737-800 jet had to turn around in the air on Sunday after the crew reported that the cowling of an engine had come off during takeoff and hit a wing flap. The Southwest Airlines plane returned safely to Denver International Airport after the incident, said the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Boeing, with 135 passengers and six crew members on board, was en route to Houston. No one was injured in the incident. The FAA said the incident is now under investigation.
Southwest said the passengers on Flight 3695 were flown to Houston on another plane about three hours late. Maintenance teams would now inspect the original machine. The 737-800 entered service in June 2015, according to FAA records. Southwest declined to comment on when the engine was last serviced. ABC News broadcast a video showing a torn engine cover with a torn Southwest logo flapping in the wind.
The Airbus rival is under stricter supervision by the FAA due to defects. At the beginning of January, a door-sized piece of the cabin wall broke off during a 737 MAX flight. In October 2018 and March 2019, two Boeing 737 MAX crashed, killing 346 people. The 737-800 is a predecessor model to the current MAX version.
A few days ago, Boeing announced in the wake of the problems that CEO Dave Calhoun would be leaving the company by the end of the year.
