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Southwest says half of grounded Boeing 737-800 planes back in service

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Southwest Airlines Co <LUV.N> said on Thursday it has now returned to service about half the 115 Boeing <BA.N> 737-800 aircraft it temporarily grounded after it discovered discrepancies in aircraft weight data. The Dallas-based airline said in a statement late Wednesday that "out of an abundance of caution, we have temporarily ceased flying the respective aircraft to enter the correct weights of the aircraft in question into the system and reset the program." (www.yahoo.com) More...

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houseofgold
houseofgold 2
How does one weigh a 737? Is there a giant Weight Watchers scale out there. Certainly it cannot rely on as built data after years of ownership. What say you?
linbb
linbb 3
Real easy its put on scales under the wheels no big deal. Been there done that on a B25 about fifty years ago. Did the same for light aircraft all have exact known locations from datum for the center of each landing gear.
paultrubits
paul trubits 1
Where did they get the seventy-five pound figure? That seems like such a small percentage of the total weight.
mbrews
mbrews 3
If the discrepancy is 75 pounds as reported, and considering the max. zero fuel weight of 737-700 is about 121,000 pounds, WHY is anyone wasting their time on a 0.06 percent discrepancy ??? Is this a case of zealous bureaucrats chasing a non-problem ?

watkinssusan
having done weights and balances on regional aircraft, i can tell you that even in the bigger jets,75 pounds makes a difference..have any of you ever seen the video of a dc10 a few years back,actually dragging its tail with sparks as it took off because it was improperly loaded? despite almost everything being done by computers now,there are still errors, and even the computer is programmed for specific weights of passengers,whether adult or child,and also the amount of cargo and baggage loaded and where..the weight of the aircraft is also inclusive of the equipment/systems on board,as well as the amount of fuel needed,and being off 75 pounds would make a difference...
mbrews
mbrews 2
If, as reported, the 75 pounds figure is the value of discrepancy, we are beyond skeptical. 75 pounds represents 0.06 percent of the zero fuel weight of a 737-700 series. Lets give it the common sense test -- say that a 10 year old weighing 75 pounds gets re-located from rear to front row of aircraft late in the boarding process. Can you with a straight face tell us the design margins are sooo narrow that the crew is then obligated to re-calculate performance, and adjust settings before takeoff ??? We must become believers in the storied "princess and the pea" fable, to conclude that it has any safety significance.
Quirkyfrog
Whose fault is this? Boeing, or Southwest?
linbb
linbb 2
It would be theres I would imagine as W&B can change during service due to equipment being added or removed. We on light aircraft didnt do a W&B every annual inspection just when equipment was added or removed. Its hard to figure CG accurately by measurements from datum but can be done. That will give a rough idea of where CG is but weighing an AC gives exact. We did one on a B25 we modified for fire use I think its the one now at Payne field in WA.

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