Southwest Airlines Cancels Many Flights, Including Atlanta Trips

ATLANTA, GA — Georgians flying Southwest Airline should check on the status of their flights before heading to Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. Southwest Airlines has already canceled close to 100 flights on Monday, and more may be scratched later. The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered an emergency inspection of all engines identical to the one that failed on a Southwest flight on April 17.

One woman was killed when a part from the exploding engine shattered the window next to her and she was partially sucked out. Another passenger pulled her back inside. It was the first fatality on Southwest Airlines in the company's history.

The FAA order affects more than 300 US planes, which must be inspected within 30 days.

Three Southwest flights out of Atlanta were canceled early Monday: Flights to Orlando, Houston, and Chicago Midway, according to the FlightAware website.

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While many airlines have the same Boeing 737 aircraft in their fleets like the one involved in last week's fatal accident, Southwest Airlines' fleet is exclusively made up of the Boeing 737, which is equipped and powered by the CFM56-7B engine that came apart. In addition, the engines can also be found on several Airbus aircraft, reports The Points Guy air travel website.

Preliminarily, officials with the National Transportation Safety Board said the engine at fault last week showed signs of “metal fatigue.”

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This story includes reporting by Patch Editor Bea Karnes

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