Settle down, consider the FACTS. The facts are not being reported by CNN.
1) Southwest DISCOVERED the problem.
2) Southwest REPORTED the problem, over a year ago, to the FAA.
3) Southwest CORRECTED the problem, as soon as possible, after consulting with the aircraft manufacturer, BOEING, and reported the corrective action to the FAA.
4) The missed inspections didn't even exist until 2004, while the airframe has been around since the middle of the 1960s. (None of Southwest's planes is older than about a 1985 model).
5) This is an election year. FAA wants money and attention. Members of Congress are up for election. All of these factors make a story like this attractive to an entity like CNN, who has their own business to run. They are masters at spin, and at stirring up propaganda against their target du jour.
All of the above rantings about greed, unsafe operations, ENRON etc. are grossly misplaced, histrionic and inaccurate.
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