Page 2 - Lap Joint News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Spread cracking across this entire fracture surface. >> reporter: damages along one of the lap joints not detected in regular maintenance checks. >> what the issue is is that along this particular lap joint, it was not known in the industry that this was an area on airplanes of this number of cycles that those lap joints should be inspected. >> reporter: boeing, the maker of the 737 300, is drafting a service bulletin to require special inspections of the lap joints in all of the 737s with comparable landing and takeoff cycles. southwest airlines has returned 19 of the grounded 737 300s to ser...

Entirely possible that you'll see boeing today issue a service bulletin recommending that airlines around the world do immediate checks on this rivet line, the lap joint. you might see the faa weigh in very soon. >> tom, you know, we hear all of these conflicting pieces of information that come at us when something like this takes place. would you and your kids get on a 737 300? >> in a heart beat, yeah. >> good. >> i think you need to look at the fact that is the work horse of not only the -- of southwest airline, but a work horse for airlines across the country. this was an isolated incident...

Now these are very small cracks, none of the same scale as the plane that was forced to make the emergency landing in yuma, arizona. but they did find these three cracks and they plan to do whatever they have to do fix them. the bigger context are, or the bigger question as it relates to this 737, is why did they not find this crack a year ago when they did a major overhaul, a 14-year overhaul. the answer seems to be that they -- the cracking was in a place they had never seen cracking before, in a plane with so few, for 14 years, cycles, a cycle is every time you take off or land. they found ...

In service. >> we found evidence of additional cracks on that airplane. >> reporter: investigators in yuma, arizona removed a large section of that 737 that made an emergency landing friday night. that piece will go through tests at the ntsb lab in washington but already investigators say there are clear signs of pre-existing fracture lines on the aircraft's skin along a lap joint. >> what the issue is that along this particular lap joint it was not known in the industry that this was an area on airplanes of this number of cycles that those lap joints should be inspected. >> reporter: new pass...

And today we begin with trouble in the air. small subsurface cracks have been found in three more southwest airlines planes after a federal investigation was launched to find out if a similar crack caused part of a 737 to tear off in midair on friday. last night, a southwest flight from oakland to san diego was diverted to los angeles for an emergency landing after the crew reported mechanical problems. the problems could lead to checks on similar planes and cancellations throughout the airline industry. nbc's frances coe reports. ntsb investigators removed the damaged section from the cripp...