By Lee Hyo-sik
Asiana Airlines and its affiliated budget carrier, Air Busan, have been ordered by aviation safety authorities here to conduct in-depth safety inspections of their Boeing 737 fleets, following the mid-air fuselage rupture of a Boeing 737-300 aircraft operated by U.S.-based Southwest Airlines last Friday.
Neither airline operates Boeing 737-300s; but Asiana has two Boeing 737-400 airplanes in operation, while Air Busan has three Boeing 737-400s and 737-500s.
Boeing 737-400s and 737-500s are known to have a similar fuselage structure as 737-300s.
Korean Air currently operates 30 Boeing 737 airplanes — 737-800s and 737-900s.
According to the Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs, 737-800s and 737-900s are more advanced and safer than 737-300s, saving the nation’s largest flagship carrier from the fallout of the Southwest debacle.
“We recently asked both Asiana and Air Busan to beef up their safety checkups of Boeing 737s as a precaution, after a Southwest Airline’s Boeing 737-300 airplane was forced to make an emergency landing last Friday as a result of a 4-foot hole in the fuselage of the plane. It does not mean we found flaws in Boeing 737 airplanes operated by the two airlines,” said an official at the ministry’s aviation safety division.
On April 1, a Southwest Airline’s Boeing 737-300 airplane, traveling from Phoenix to Sacramento, was forced to make an emergency landing at a nearby military base in Arizona, less than 20 minutes after take-off.
About a 4-foot hole in the fuselage of the plane terrified the 118 passengers who had to scramble for oxygen masks after the cabin lost pressure.
One flight attendant sustained minor injuries.
In response, Asiana and Air Busan said they will boost the safety checks of their Boeing 737 airplanes as instructed, but stressed that their planes are perfectly safe and passengers have nothing to worry about flying on them.
“Our two 737-400 aircrafts are only 14 years-old. Given the fact that commercial airplanes normally retire after 30 years in operation, our planes are fairly new. We have been making all-out efforts to keep our planes in good shape,” an Asiana Airlines spokesman said. He said the company will more thoroughly inspect the planes.
An Air Busan spokeswoman also said its six 737 airplanes went through a rigorous safety inspection by Boeing last year, stressing all its aircraft are well maintained and safe.