** Update 27/12/20 at 16:25 UTC – A Southwest Airlines spokesman shared more information about the incident; details below. **
There was a moment of frustration on Christmas Day for passengers and crew on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 bound for Oakland, California, Honolulu, Hawaii. On December 25, the narrowbody returned to the departure airport after hearing unusual sounds from the windshield.
A quick occurrence
According to The Aviation Herald, the 737 involved had registration number N8328A and was flying WN-1278. 19 passengers and five crew members were on board when the incident happened.
The plane had a departure time at 2:25 pm local time. After hearing strange noises, the crew interrupted the aircraft’s climb at 14,000 feet and returned to Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. After that, the plane landed safely on runway 08L approximately 25 minutes after taking off earlier.
Dealing with the situation
Southwest organized a 737-800 replacement to serve delayed passengers. Subsequently, registration N8307K took travelers to Oakland with a three-hour delay.
Finally, the captain decided to return to Honolulu on the first flight so that the strange noises from the N8328A’s windshield could be inspected. However, workers on the ground did not encounter any mechanical problems.
According to Planespotters.net, the aircraft arrived at Southwest colleges in December 2012. It has the manufacturer’s serial number (MSN) 38818 and came straight from the Boeing production facility in Renton. It is part of Southwest’s 732 737 fleet.
Simple Flying contacted Southwest Airlines to comment on the incident. A spokesman for the operator shared more details about what happened.
“With great caution, the captain decided to return about 20 minutes after the flight started to allow mechanics to take a look at the multilayered windshield in the cabin, where they were hearing an unusual noise. There were no mechanical problems with the aircraft and, yes, an emergency is always declared to allow any changes to the landing location of the original flight plan. We do not report injuries on landing without complications ”, the spokesman told Simple Flying.
“Our pilots are going to operate the flight with a different plane and take these customers to Oakland tonight about three hours late. I understand that our great people at the gates of HNL ordered pizza and are helping these customers to overcome the delay for which we apologize. We don’t put anything higher than your safety. “
Late but safe
This Southwest 737 was not the only aircraft that was diverted due to an incident during Christmas. An Aviastar Tupolev Tu-204 en route to Moscow, Russia from Leipzig, Germany was diverted due to an autopilot failure.
Altogether, fortunately there were no tragic consequences of these incidents. Even though there is no serious problem with the Southwest plane, any potential danger was avoided and passengers finally departed for their destination that same afternoon.
Recently, there has been an increased focus on Honolulu for Southwest. Last month, after a delay of almost seven months, the operator finally launched its service between San Diego and the Hawaiian capital. The flights were supposed to start in April, but have been delayed due to restrictions surrounding the global health crisis. The airline is evidently connecting Hawaii well with the west coast of the United States.
What do you think of this Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 returning to Honolulu because of a windshield problem? Have you experienced anything similar to flying over the years? Let us know what you think of the situation in the comments section.