Foxcub 15 (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} foxcub15) wrote,@ 2003-07-02 13:45:00 |
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Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines is the fifth largest airline in the United States.
Southwest is tied with 6 other (major) US airline companies for having never had a passenger fatality in ther entire history. They have flown more than four times as many passengers as the second largest of those six, America West. The other four airlines, Midway, JetBlue, Hawaiian, and America Trans, have pathetically short records and statistically haven't flown enough to meet their first fatal accident, unless AirTran (ValuJet) and Midwest are taken into account, with their extremely high fatality rate owing to very low passenger numbers and a single incident each. Besides ValuJet and Midwest, five other smaller airlines have experienced passenger fatalities: Air Canada, Alaskan Airlines, Aloha Airlines, Continental Airlines, and Northwest Airlines. The closest airline to Southwest's experience level, Northwest, has experienced 4 separate fatal incidents, and thus has a roughly average safety record. The second closest, Continental, has a better safety record than Northwest, with only 3 fatal events.
Compared to larger airlines, Southwest has a little over half the number of passengers carried as United Airlines and American Airlines. Both United and American, excluding the 9-11 hijackings, have had 10 and 9 fatal incidents in their history, respecively. If 9-11 is included, they're at 11 and 10 respectively. Delta, on the other had, which has flown just over twice as much as Southwest, has had merely 6. US Airways has flown about 50% more than Southwest, and accounts for 9 fatal incidents. Statistically, there are no exceptions: Southwest, by all rights, should have 3 to 5 incidents that resulted in passenger fatalities. Fires, runway crashes, instrument failure, something should have gone wrong. But it hasn't even had one. out of 9,500,000 people flown around, nothing has ever gone wrong enough that someone has died on a Southwest Airlines flight.
At least 10% of all stock in Southwest Airlines is owned by employees. The average passenger airfare is $86.64. The average passenger trip length is 723 miles. Southwest boasts the best on-time record, best baggage handling, and fewest customer complaints in the airline industry. Southwest is the only airline that has made money every year since 1973, with stock value up more than 500% since 1990. An investment of $1000 in Southwest stock in 1973 would be worth over $1.8 million today. Southwest's stock trades at about 20 times on earnings, double the industry standard. Southwest serves around 2,400 customers per employee anually, double its competetors' average. They have never permanently laid off an employee.
May 24, 2003
Airplane touches down in a thunderstorm, perfectly lined up, and suddenly veers left off the runway, colliding with runway light. The crew is able to recover the landing. Significant damage to the airplane, no injuries.
August 09, 2001
A thunderhead unexpectedly develops upward into the direct path of the airplane. The captain orders all passengers seated, but does not order flight attendants seated. The airplane suddenly encounters moderately severe turbulence, and one flight attendant falls and is seriously injured. Two passengers who were standing are also knocked down and sustained minor injuries.
March 04, 2001
A 12,000 foot long runway is under maintnence and only 6,000 is usable. No electronic approach guidance is in effect, but airmen are notified, and a visual giadiance system is in use. The airplane comes to a stop 75 feet into unusable runway, damaging the aircraft. No injuries.
May 20, 2000
A passenger assaults a flight attendent and jumps out of the plane, seriously injuring himself. A factor in the accident was the lack of backup electrical power to the terminal which necessitated a lengthy ground hold due to power outage.
March 05, 2000
Excessive airspeed and flightpath angle during the approach and landing and failure to abort the approach when stabilized approach criteria are not met result in overshooting a safe runway landing and crashing through a blast fence on the other side. The aircraft came to a rest in a city street beyond the airfield. 7 serious injuries, 41 minor injuries, and extensive damage to the aircraft (nose crumpled, landing slide inflates inside the aircraft, cabin pressure integrity failure, all that good stuff).
June 25, 1999
The pilot inadvertently flies into a thunderstorm cell 20 miles off course, resulting sudden notable turbulence. One flight attendant breaks an ankle.
July 07, 1998
During decent to landing, bad circutry causes the computer to respond to incorrect singnals, ordering open the fuel valve to one of the two engines full blast. At the low speed of the aircraft, the sudden increase in the fuel flow damages the engine core and causes sudden heat damage to the turbine, and the engine to loses power. Flight attendants report fire coming from the engine tailpipe, streaking back toward the tail. The pilot and copilot scan the situation, note that the engine does not have a fire warning active, and elect not to take emergency fire control measures. They shut off the engine and land on their last engine, then shut down completely as fire crews rush to the scene. The fire crews clear the plane as safe, and they are towed to the gate where passengers deboard the plane as normal. No injuries.
October 04, 1997
Bad repairs to the aircraft brakes (overheated during repair) causes parts of the left main landing gear to separate from the airplane during landing. No injuries.
July 08, 1996
A bird is injested in the left engine of the aircraft as it is approaching takeoff speeds. The pilot immidiately aborts, but overheats the breaks and landing gear. A fire crew arrives on scene, and determines that there is no fire, but one of the smoking breaks suddenly erupts into flame. The fire crew puts it out quickly, but one of the flight attendant staff, upon hearing the firecrew shouting about a fire, orders the aircraft evacuated without consulting the pilot. Five injuries are sustained during the evacuation, one of them serious. The pilot is blamed for a bad abort, and the flight crew is blamed for incompitent handling of the situation (the company is blamed for improper training).
May 10, 1996
In bad storm conditions, one of the landing gear slides off the runway into the mud for 700 feet. No injuries.
April 30, 1996
One of the landing gear doesn't extend. The pilot circles, first trying normal landing gear extension procedures, then subjects the aircraft to touch-and-go landing and low-G manuvers to try to jar or force the gear loose. Finally, the aircraft is diverted to a minor runway and lands despite the half-extended gear. The aircraft is damaged, but no injuries.
October 30, 1995
While taking off in Las Vegas, a laser beam from one of the light shows on the ground enters the cockpit and blinds the first officer, who is flying the plane, causing him to lose all vision for 30 seconds, and be incapable of reading instruments for another two minutes. The captain takes control of the plane, and the flight proceeds normally. Previous to this, fifty-one incidents of pilots being temporarily blinded by lasers while over Las Vegas were reported in two years.
August 18, 1995
An incorrect part was is intalled by the supplier company, and one of the wheels separates from the aircraft durign takeoff. THe flight continues and lands without incident. No injuries.
July 28, 1995
A Cessna and a 747 collide during taxi, due to the Cessna being in the blind spot of the 747 and the 747 merging left. The air traffic controller did not issue sequencing instructions, and the first officer of the Cessna was otherwise occupied in the cockpit and did not see the 747. No injuries.
January 27, 1995
While deplaning, a four-year-old boy exits through the galley servicing door and falls through a nine inch gap between the airplane and a catering truck, and is seriously injured. Both the flight crew and the boy's mother are blamed for not properly supervising the child.
January 01, 1995
While landing after another aircraft, the plane unexpectedly encounters wake turbulence, and rolls 20 degrees right, and the pilot overcorrects by 10 degress, then uses rudder to straighen and continue to land. No injuries.
July 07, 1994
A flight attendant falls and seriously injures her back when the aircraft encountes sudden unexpected and unforcasted turbluence.
January 19, 1994
One of the wheels on the left landing gear separates, but the subsequent landing is uneventful. The manufacturer participated in the examination of the parts and said that they were worn to the limit or past the limit, but that the wear still couldn't justify the way the landing gear had just fallen apart. No injuries.
September 08, 1993
After executing a go-around for traffic separation while on final approach, the first officer remarks that the airplane isn't flying right. Cabin attendants report a problem with the left flaps. An off-duty captain in the cockpit investigates and finds that the left forward flap is broken and hanging loose. The Captain takes control of the aircraft and lands without incident.
August 03, 1992
The captain orders all passengers and crew seated and seatbelts used. As one flight attendant is strapping in, the aircraft encounters severe turbulence, and the flight attendant is thrown into the ceiling and the right rear exit door, sustaining severe injuries. One other minor injury reported.
May 14, 1992
While on landing approach, one of three still standing flight attendants breaks an ankle when the plane encounters unexpected moderate turbulence.
November 30, 1991
The airplane collides head-on with a flock of geese in nightime conditions. The pressure bulkhead is compromised, other minor damages reported, and debris is sprayed across the captain's windshield. The first officer takes over and lands the plane without event. No injuries.
August 09, 1990
A flight attendant is seriously injured in an encounter with unexpected clear-air turbulence.
June 18, 1987
A Southwest Airlines flight and a Delta flight take off from opposite ends of the runway at the same time. The Delta flight veers off the runway, and the Southwest flight, having nearly reached takeoff speeds, continues. No further incident or injuries. The crew of the Delta flight is found responsible for the incident.
March 16, 1987
A flight attendant is seated but not yet strapped in when the aircraft encounters severe turbulence. The flight attendant is thrown to the floor and seriously injured.
May 04, 1986
Two flight attendants are severly injured as the aircraft encounters severe clear-air turbulence and drops suddenly.
January 03, 1986
One of the engines hangs down four feet from the runway during takeoff. The aircraft circles around and lands without further incident. The engine and flaps were damaged. The short of it is that maintnence was blamed for basically not bolting the engine down hard enough. No injuries.
April 28, 1985
The pilor initiates full reverse thrust in high wind conditions while landing, against procedure. The aircraft hydroplanes off the runway and collides with a runway light. One passenger reports a minor injury during evacuation.
January 20, 1983
Icy conditions cause the aircraft to slide off the taxiway and become lodged in a snowbank. No injuries.
Southwest Airlines is the fifth largest airline in the United States.
Southwest is tied with 6 other (major) US airline companies for having never had a passenger fatality in ther entire history. They have flown more than four times as many passengers as the second largest of those six, America West. The other four airlines, Midway, JetBlue, Hawaiian, and America Trans, have pathetically short records and statistically haven't flown enough to meet their first fatal accident, unless AirTran (ValuJet) and Midwest are taken into account, with their extremely high fatality rate owing to very low passenger numbers and a single incident each. Besides ValuJet and Midwest, five other smaller airlines have experienced passenger fatalities: Air Canada, Alaskan Airlines, Aloha Airlines, Continental Airlines, and Northwest Airlines. The closest airline to Southwest's experience level, Northwest, has experienced 4 separate fatal incidents, and thus has a roughly average safety record. The second closest, Continental, has a better safety record than Northwest, with only 3 fatal events.
Compared to larger airlines, Southwest has a little over half the number of passengers carried as United Airlines and American Airlines. Both United and American, excluding the 9-11 hijackings, have had 10 and 9 fatal incidents in their history, respecively. If 9-11 is included, they're at 11 and 10 respectively. Delta, on the other had, which has flown just over twice as much as Southwest, has had merely 6. US Airways has flown about 50% more than Southwest, and accounts for 9 fatal incidents. Statistically, there are no exceptions: Southwest, by all rights, should have 3 to 5 incidents that resulted in passenger fatalities. Fires, runway crashes, instrument failure, something should have gone wrong. But it hasn't even had one. out of 9,500,000 people flown around, nothing has ever gone wrong enough that someone has died on a Southwest Airlines flight.
At least 10% of all stock in Southwest Airlines is owned by employees. The average passenger airfare is $86.64. The average passenger trip length is 723 miles. Southwest boasts the best on-time record, best baggage handling, and fewest customer complaints in the airline industry. Southwest is the only airline that has made money every year since 1973, with stock value up more than 500% since 1990. An investment of $1000 in Southwest stock in 1973 would be worth over $1.8 million today. Southwest's stock trades at about 20 times on earnings, double the industry standard. Southwest serves around 2,400 customers per employee anually, double its competetors' average. They have never permanently laid off an employee.
May 24, 2003
Airplane touches down in a thunderstorm, perfectly lined up, and suddenly veers left off the runway, colliding with runway light. The crew is able to recover the landing. Significant damage to the airplane, no injuries.
August 09, 2001
A thunderhead unexpectedly develops upward into the direct path of the airplane. The captain orders all passengers seated, but does not order flight attendants seated. The airplane suddenly encounters moderately severe turbulence, and one flight attendant falls and is seriously injured. Two passengers who were standing are also knocked down and sustained minor injuries.
March 04, 2001
A 12,000 foot long runway is under maintnence and only 6,000 is usable. No electronic approach guidance is in effect, but airmen are notified, and a visual giadiance system is in use. The airplane comes to a stop 75 feet into unusable runway, damaging the aircraft. No injuries.
May 20, 2000
A passenger assaults a flight attendent and jumps out of the plane, seriously injuring himself. A factor in the accident was the lack of backup electrical power to the terminal which necessitated a lengthy ground hold due to power outage.
March 05, 2000
Excessive airspeed and flightpath angle during the approach and landing and failure to abort the approach when stabilized approach criteria are not met result in overshooting a safe runway landing and crashing through a blast fence on the other side. The aircraft came to a rest in a city street beyond the airfield. 7 serious injuries, 41 minor injuries, and extensive damage to the aircraft (nose crumpled, landing slide inflates inside the aircraft, cabin pressure integrity failure, all that good stuff).
June 25, 1999
The pilot inadvertently flies into a thunderstorm cell 20 miles off course, resulting sudden notable turbulence. One flight attendant breaks an ankle.
July 07, 1998
During decent to landing, bad circutry causes the computer to respond to incorrect singnals, ordering open the fuel valve to one of the two engines full blast. At the low speed of the aircraft, the sudden increase in the fuel flow damages the engine core and causes sudden heat damage to the turbine, and the engine to loses power. Flight attendants report fire coming from the engine tailpipe, streaking back toward the tail. The pilot and copilot scan the situation, note that the engine does not have a fire warning active, and elect not to take emergency fire control measures. They shut off the engine and land on their last engine, then shut down completely as fire crews rush to the scene. The fire crews clear the plane as safe, and they are towed to the gate where passengers deboard the plane as normal. No injuries.
October 04, 1997
Bad repairs to the aircraft brakes (overheated during repair) causes parts of the left main landing gear to separate from the airplane during landing. No injuries.
July 08, 1996
A bird is injested in the left engine of the aircraft as it is approaching takeoff speeds. The pilot immidiately aborts, but overheats the breaks and landing gear. A fire crew arrives on scene, and determines that there is no fire, but one of the smoking breaks suddenly erupts into flame. The fire crew puts it out quickly, but one of the flight attendant staff, upon hearing the firecrew shouting about a fire, orders the aircraft evacuated without consulting the pilot. Five injuries are sustained during the evacuation, one of them serious. The pilot is blamed for a bad abort, and the flight crew is blamed for incompitent handling of the situation (the company is blamed for improper training).
May 10, 1996
In bad storm conditions, one of the landing gear slides off the runway into the mud for 700 feet. No injuries.
April 30, 1996
One of the landing gear doesn't extend. The pilot circles, first trying normal landing gear extension procedures, then subjects the aircraft to touch-and-go landing and low-G manuvers to try to jar or force the gear loose. Finally, the aircraft is diverted to a minor runway and lands despite the half-extended gear. The aircraft is damaged, but no injuries.
October 30, 1995
While taking off in Las Vegas, a laser beam from one of the light shows on the ground enters the cockpit and blinds the first officer, who is flying the plane, causing him to lose all vision for 30 seconds, and be incapable of reading instruments for another two minutes. The captain takes control of the plane, and the flight proceeds normally. Previous to this, fifty-one incidents of pilots being temporarily blinded by lasers while over Las Vegas were reported in two years.
August 18, 1995
An incorrect part was is intalled by the supplier company, and one of the wheels separates from the aircraft durign takeoff. THe flight continues and lands without incident. No injuries.
July 28, 1995
A Cessna and a 747 collide during taxi, due to the Cessna being in the blind spot of the 747 and the 747 merging left. The air traffic controller did not issue sequencing instructions, and the first officer of the Cessna was otherwise occupied in the cockpit and did not see the 747. No injuries.
January 27, 1995
While deplaning, a four-year-old boy exits through the galley servicing door and falls through a nine inch gap between the airplane and a catering truck, and is seriously injured. Both the flight crew and the boy's mother are blamed for not properly supervising the child.
January 01, 1995
While landing after another aircraft, the plane unexpectedly encounters wake turbulence, and rolls 20 degrees right, and the pilot overcorrects by 10 degress, then uses rudder to straighen and continue to land. No injuries.
July 07, 1994
A flight attendant falls and seriously injures her back when the aircraft encountes sudden unexpected and unforcasted turbluence.
January 19, 1994
One of the wheels on the left landing gear separates, but the subsequent landing is uneventful. The manufacturer participated in the examination of the parts and said that they were worn to the limit or past the limit, but that the wear still couldn't justify the way the landing gear had just fallen apart. No injuries.
September 08, 1993
After executing a go-around for traffic separation while on final approach, the first officer remarks that the airplane isn't flying right. Cabin attendants report a problem with the left flaps. An off-duty captain in the cockpit investigates and finds that the left forward flap is broken and hanging loose. The Captain takes control of the aircraft and lands without incident.
August 03, 1992
The captain orders all passengers and crew seated and seatbelts used. As one flight attendant is strapping in, the aircraft encounters severe turbulence, and the flight attendant is thrown into the ceiling and the right rear exit door, sustaining severe injuries. One other minor injury reported.
May 14, 1992
While on landing approach, one of three still standing flight attendants breaks an ankle when the plane encounters unexpected moderate turbulence.
November 30, 1991
The airplane collides head-on with a flock of geese in nightime conditions. The pressure bulkhead is compromised, other minor damages reported, and debris is sprayed across the captain's windshield. The first officer takes over and lands the plane without event. No injuries.
August 09, 1990
A flight attendant is seriously injured in an encounter with unexpected clear-air turbulence.
June 18, 1987
A Southwest Airlines flight and a Delta flight take off from opposite ends of the runway at the same time. The Delta flight veers off the runway, and the Southwest flight, having nearly reached takeoff speeds, continues. No further incident or injuries. The crew of the Delta flight is found responsible for the incident.
March 16, 1987
A flight attendant is seated but not yet strapped in when the aircraft encounters severe turbulence. The flight attendant is thrown to the floor and seriously injured.
May 04, 1986
Two flight attendants are severly injured as the aircraft encounters severe clear-air turbulence and drops suddenly.
January 03, 1986
One of the engines hangs down four feet from the runway during takeoff. The aircraft circles around and lands without further incident. The engine and flaps were damaged. The short of it is that maintnence was blamed for basically not bolting the engine down hard enough. No injuries.
April 28, 1985
The pilor initiates full reverse thrust in high wind conditions while landing, against procedure. The aircraft hydroplanes off the runway and collides with a runway light. One passenger reports a minor injury during evacuation.
January 20, 1983
Icy conditions cause the aircraft to slide off the taxiway and become lodged in a snowbank. No injuries.
