Southwest Airlines completed replacement of unapproved parts on 30 of 82 affected aircraft over the weekend, a FAA spokesman has confirmed.
The issue emerged roughly a week ago, and at that time Southwest thought only 46 aircraft contained the unauthorised parts.
FAA and Southwest have a deadline of tomorrow to determine how to replace the parts on the remaining aircraft, which entails removing the flap from the wing, explains FAA's spokesman. He also notes determining the schedule also depends on parts availability.
In parallel FAA is investigating how the unauthorised parts were installed on the aircraft. The agency's spokesman says FAA has not yet determined if any civil enforcement will be necessary.
FAA has worked with its own engineers and Boeing to determine operating the aircraft with the questionable parts poses no safety hazard. Southwest operates an all Boeing 737 fleet.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
