DALLAS — Federal officials have agreed to let Southwest Airlines keep flying planes that missed an inspection of a backup rudder system if the planes are checked within five days. Southwest grounded 128 planes — about one-fifth of its fleet — on Tuesday after discovering the missed inspections.
Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King said the groundings caused the airline to cancel about 80 flights Tuesday and 15 more by late Wednesday morning. She said crews inspected 80 of the planes overnight and will check the rest before the five-day deadline.
The missed inspections involved hydraulic systems used to control the rudder if the main system fails.
The Federal Aviation Administration has agreed to let the airline resume flying the planes while inspections are done.
