New details about close call during plane landing in Hawaii
It was a very close call of Kauai in April, the FAA confirming its investigating a Southwest flight that came within 400 feet of slamming into the ocean while attempting to land in bad weather. A Southwest memo to pilots says a less experienced first officer inadvertently pushed the control column forward, then cut the speed, causing cockpit alarms to go off before the captain ordered an aggressive climb. No injuries. SW tells NBC News nothing is more important than safety. The event was addressed appropriately as we always strive for continuous improvement. Meanwhile, the NTSB is investigating another incident that happened in May on a Southwest flight from Phoenix to Oakland. At 34,000 feet, the 737 Max 8 suddenly went into what pilots call a Dutch roll, oscillating and rocking from side to side. Pilots regained control and landed safely. A post flight inspection revealed damage to the standby power control unit that provides backup power to the rudder. The FAA says it has no reports of similar problems involving other 737 Maxes. I don't think we have a fleet problem here. There's something unique to this airplane, and that's what the investigators are going to concentrate on. And another concern, the FAA looking at whether potentially counterfeit titanium from China made its way into the Boeing and Airbus supply chains with forged documents. Boeing flagged the concern to the FAA. Both Boeing and Airbus say there's no sign that any aircraft was made with suspect titanium. Does the FAA have enough inspectors right now to truly keep an eye on Boeing? We feel like we have enough inspectors, but we continue to hire and train more inspectors. This all comes as the TSA predicts it could screen a record number of passengers next week. 3 million in a single day, Lester.