Earlier this week, a Southwest Airlines flight between San Jose Cabo to Houston suffered an engine failure not long after departure.
It is key to note that this is not associated with the ongoing issues involving American planemaker Boeing.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
WN3007 – San Jose Cabo-Houston…
Southwest Airlines flight WN3007 is a routine scheduled flight between San Jose Cabo and Houston Hobby.
The aircraft involved in the incident was N500WR.
As per data from Planespotters.net, N500WR is a 9.8 year old Boeing 737-800 that was delivered to the airline in June 2014.
Furthermore, of the 737-800 variant, Southwest Airlines has 207 of them, with 196 in active service and 11 parked.
Average fleet age for the aircraft type at the airline is 8.6 years.
WN3007 departed San Jose Cabo at 1600 local time on March 18, and climbed out in the direction of Houston.
As per The Aviation Herald, the crew stopped the climb at FL190 due to an engine issue.
Such an issue was the CFM56 engine producing a bang and streaks of flames, which prompted a return back to the airport.
After around 27 minutes in the air, Southwest flight WN3007, originally bound for Houston, landed safely back into San Jose Cabo.
The flight was cancelled due to not having alternative aircraft close by to operate the flight.
N500WR Remains Grounded Since The Incident…
Furthermore, N500WR remains grounded still at the time of writing (21/3/24 @ 2pm UK time).
It is unclear how long it will take to repair the engine, with the jet not being in a base like Houston Hobby.
Once such repairs are made in San Jose Cabo, the aircraft can then position onwards back to the U.S.
But for now, all eyes will be on when it will re-enter commercial service following this incident.
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