Southwest Airlines Boeing Flight Experiences Harrowing Mid-Air Incident

Boeing suffered another harrowing, near-catastrophic mid-air mishap last month, recently revealed in an FAA report.

On May 25, a Boeing 737 aircraft operated by Southwest that was carrying 175 passengers had been making the short 115-minute trip from Phoenix, AZ to Oakland, CA when it suddenly experienced a “Dutch roll," The New York Post reports. This is a phenomenon which occurs when the plane’s tail rocks from left to right in misalignment, thereby causing the wings to sway from side to side.

Luckily, the pilots were able to regain control of the plane and brought it to a safe landing at its destination. However, the plane was so badly damaged that it has been kept out of service in the three weeks since the incident.

No injuries were reported from any of the plane’s passengers or crew. Though undoubtedly terrifying, Dutch rolls are a fairly common occurrence which pilots are taught to handle in flight school. Most modern aircraft now come equipped with a yaw damper, which works to realign the plane and return it to its proper state.

The FAA’s preliminary report found that one of the plane’s power control units, which serves as a backup generator for the rudder, had been damaged before the flight. The agency is “working closely with the [National Transportation Safety Board] and Boeing to investigate this event. We will take appropriate action based on the findings.”

This is just the latest mid-air incident in a short few months for Boeing, which kicked off the year with the infamous Alaska Airlines door blowout . That episode led to a number of calls for increasing safety protocols within the manufacturing company, including from Boeing itself , as well as a litany of startling near-catastrophes taking place on its aircraft.

And just last week, a video caught flames shooting out of a Paris-bound 777 leaving Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.