Airline’s safety record takes a hit with slide off runway

Susan Parrott

Monday, March 6, 2000 | 4:33 a.m.

DALLAS - Southwest Airlines chief executive Herb Kelleher defended the air carrier's safety record, which he says remains virtually intact despite a runaway jet in Burbank, Calif.

The accident was the most serious in the airline's 29-year history. Although 15 people reported some sort of injury, no one died.

"We completed 13 million flight hours with no fatalities," said Kelleher, adding that the Dallas-based airline has retained a "world-leading safety record" since it began flying in 1971.

The Southwest Airlines 737 with 142 people aboard barreled off the end of a Burbank runway about 6 p.m. PST Sunday, slammed through a retaining wall and came to a halt in the middle of a street, narrowly missing a gasoline station.

The plane was removed Monday morning, and NTSB officials now will be able to inspect the plane and work toward a cause, Kelleher said.

He said it probably will take at least a year to determine the final cause of the crash. "Nobody who considers himself an expert will attempt to offer a cause of the crash right after it happened," Kelleher said.

Kelleher said he had not spoken to the pilot but has "no reason to criticize any action or behavior on the part of the pilot."

"There is no explanation as of this time," Kelleher said.

When it landed, the plane had over 5,000 gallons of fuel, about one-fifth of its capacity, Kelleher said. There were no reports of flames, and the plane narrowly missed striking the gasoline pumps.

Obviously, if the plane had struck one of the pumps, "The potentiality for fire would have been much greater," Kelleher said.

The plane was last checked on Thursday for an "A check," a routine check done every 21 days, officials said. Among the things inspected are fluid levels, flight control surfaces, oxygen systems, lighting, auxiliary power systems and engines.

The inspection also includes all items from a weekly service check that includes wheels, brakes and hydraulic systems, plus a visual inspection of wings, leading edges and stabilizers.

"As far as I know, there were no anomalies discovered during that check," he said.

Southwest began operating in 1971 with three planes serving three Texas cities. Now, the airline has 312 Boeing 737 jets serving 55 cities. Most have an average age of 8.3 years.

Kelleher said the last significant mishap during a Southwest Airlines flight occurred in July 1996 at the Nashville International Airport. A departing plane was halfway down the runway when the pilot received a warning on a monitor and aborted the takeoff.

The plane, with a crew of five, ended up more than 500 feet off the center runway in the grass, Lewis said. Three of the plane's 122 passengers had minor injuries.

But Kelleher said "that was not a serious accident or incident compared to the seriousness" of the Burbank accident.

Industry experts attribute Southwest's good safety record to several factors.

The airline flies only 737s, so its mechanics and pilots become familiar with one type of aircraft, said James Higgins, an airlines analyst with Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette in New York.

In addition, the airlines flies mostly in states with warmer climates that have fewer problems relating to icing, he said.

Airline officials say the company's employee friendly atmosphere attracts some of the best pilots in the business.