The loss of an engine cover on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 on Sunday that fell off during takeoff in Denver and struck the wing flap was the result of a maintenance issue, the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Wednesday. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters after a Senate hearing the airplane had been in for maintenance the night before the incident in which it lost the engine cowling. "It's a maintenance issue," Homendy said, adding the board opted not to open a formal investigation. The NTSB had sent a structural engineer who lives in Denver to look at the plane but was satisfied with its understanding of the incident. "Southwest is addressing it," she added. Prior incidents involving engine cowling have been attributed to failure to latch the fan cowl doors. Homendy said in the Southwest incident "there may be some issues with how they latch to see whether they can tell if they're locked or not. So they're going through those procedures now." The FAA, which is investigating, did not immediately comment on Wednesday. Southwest said it would "defer to the FAA due to the ongoing investigation into this incident." No one was injured and Southwest Flight 3695 returned safely to Denver International Airport around 8:15 a.m. local time (1415 GMT) on Sunday and was towed to the gate after losing the engine cowling. The Boeing aircraft bound for Houston Hobby airport with 135 passengers and six crew members aboard climbed to about 10,300 feet (3,140 m) before returning 25 minutes after takeoff.The plane entered service in June 2015, according to FAA records. Boeing referred questions to Southwest. The 737-800 is in the prior generation of the best-selling 737 known as the 737 NG, which in turn was replaced by the 737 MAX.<br/>
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Fast-growing US start-up Breeze Airways turned its first full-month operating profit in March, reflecting rapid revenue gains amid quick expansion. That is according to the privately held airline, which on 9 April disclosed a few broad financial metrics and said that March brought its “first full-month of operating profit”. Breeze does not specify how it calculates operating profit, though the figure typically reflects the financial performance of a company’s core operating unit and excludes interest and taxes.Founded by David Neeleman in 2019, ultra-low-cost Breeze says its unit revenue – typically measured in revenue per available seat per mile flown – increased more than 30% year on year in the first quarter of 2024. Breeze, which started flying passengers in May 2021, also generated more revenue from scheduled flights in March than it did in all of the first quarter of 2023, it says. The improving financial metrics reflect what Breeze calls “high demand for its premium-leisure products” and increasing popularity of a route network largely composed of flights between secondary markets that otherwise lack direct air links. Breeze, which flies Airbus A220-300s and Embraer E-Jets, says it operated 99.8% of its first-quarter flights, excluding cancellations due to factors beyond its control.<br/>