You are missing my point. Yes, in the cases where there are doubler plates then it does suggest they are doing the inspections, at least on those aircraft. But keep in mind too that a doubler plate is also used if the skin of the plane gets punctured. So what about the ones that got skipped out on inspections that may need these? Are there other places that need plates are did not get them? The next question is, are they caught up on the inspections?
They had one make an emergency landing a few months ago where a small section of skin peeled open by the tail. Was that due to a missed inspection?
The bigger picture in this is that they beat their planes to that point. What's getting missed?
There's an even bigger picture at play here. The reason the inspections got skipped was because the FAA inspector was overlooking them. Turns out the Southwest head of maintenance was his brother-in-law. In more recent months it was found that there was a wing part being used that was not FAA approved. It's a heat shield for the exhaust above the back of the engine. I still don't get how a company can make an airplane part that is not FAA approved, but it happened. Now let's start putting the pieces together.
Given the time frames, these parts had to have been approved for use by the former head of maintenance. (Yes he and his bro in law at the FAA got fired from their jobs after the inspections, or lack of). More than likely he was trying to save the company money and in turn making himself look good to those higher up. You have to now ask yourself, what else did he have in place that has not been discovered yet?
|