A Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland to Denver returned to Oakland International Airport this morning after a wing slat warning light went on in the cockpit.
Flight 565 with 103 passengers on board landed without incident in Oakland less than an hour after it had departed.
The passengers were placed on another flight and arrived in Denver 2 1/2 hours late, said Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz.
“It is standard procedure and not uncommon at all to return to the airport,” Mainz said. “This wasn’t a safety of flight issue. The pilot elected to turn around. The pilot did not declare an emergency and it was a routine landing.”
The jet was a Boeing 737-700, a different model than the 737-300s that have been inspected since Friday’s emergency landing of a Southwest flight due to a large hole opening in the cabin ceiling.
“This was a different model and a different area of the plane,” Mainz said.
The 737-300 inspections revealed five with cracks, and those planes have been grounded while the remainder have been returned to service.
Ann Schrader: 303-954-1967 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
