Southwest Airlines Flight Canceled Departing From El Paso

At least one flight from El Paso International Airport has been canceled Sunday as Southwest Airlines continues inspections of its Boeing 737 aircraft.

Airport officials said the 8:20 p.m. flight to Austin has been canceled. Officials advise travelers to call the airline to see how it will accommodate the cancellation.

No other cancellations are expected.

Wind is not affecting any other flights at the airport, according to officials.

Two Southwest Airlines flights were canceled Saturday. Passengers for those flights were accommodated by the airline, airport officials said.

The cancellations stem from Friday’s emergency landing in Yuma, Ariz.

Federal investigators said the entire length of a 5-foot-long tear in the skin of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 showed evidence of pre-existing fatigue cracking.

National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt said the rip in the jet was a foot wide. It started along a lap joint where two sections of the Boeing 737-300’s skin are riveted together.

Southwest mechanics will be cutting the entire ripped section out of the plane on Sunday. Sumwalt said he expects a 9-foot by 3-foot section will be removed and sent to Washington, D.C., for analysis.

The jet had leveled off at 36,000 feet after taking off from Phoenix when the skin ruptured. The pilots rapidly descended. One flight attendant was hurt.

Southwest Airlines said it was canceling 300 flights on Sunday as the airline continues its inspection of 79 of its Boeing 737 aircraft. The move follows 300 cancellations Saturday.

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