Not a good few days for Southwest Airlines

SOUTHWEST BOEING 737-7H4 N953WN (MSN 36668)

A Southwest Airlines flight travelling from Denver International Airport (DEN/KDEN) to Houston-William P. Hobby Airport (HOU/KHOU) on Sunday morning returned to the airport after part of the engine fell off during takeoff and struck the wing flap of the plane according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Southwest flight WN3695 departed runway 25 at 7:49 a.m. and arrived back at Denver International Airport on runway 34L at 8:13 a.m. MDT after the crew reported the engine cowling (a hood-like cover for the plane’s engine) fell off while the plane was taking off and struck the plane’s wing flap.

There were no reported injuries, and the Boeing 737, which was supposed to land in Houston, was towed to the gate after returning to Denver. Video of the incident shared on social media shows a piece of the engine cover barely hanging as the crew lands the plane.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Southwest Airlines

Code: WN/SWA

Aircraft: Boeing 737-8H4

Registration: N8668A

Serial Number: 36903

Engines: 2 x CFMI CFM56-7B27E

First Flew: 4th May 2015

Age: 8.11 Years

Meanwhile a few days earlier another Southwest flight departing from Lubbock (LBB/KLBB) to Las Vegas (LAS/KLAS) returned to the gate shortly after abandoning its takeoff roll when the flight crew reported a possible engine fire, according to a statement from Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport.

Lubbock Fire Rescue responded to reports of an engine failure and fire and said crews were working on "extinguishment operations." The flight was preparing to depart for Las Vegas but returned to the gate before take-off, according to the airline.

A passenger on the flight said, "We had gotten to the acceleration part of take-off, about to lift off, and you could hear a 'thump' and the plane swerved and we came to a stop."

"It didn't seem scary. We thought a tire had blown out … but the pilot came on and said, 'The engine had ingested something, and a flame had come out,'" they said.

The aircraft taxied back to the gate under its own power.

Flight WN1928 finally departed at 9:03pm CDT and arrived at Las Vegas at 9:02pm PDT, 3 hours late. The flight was operated by another Boeing 737-800 (registration N8548P)

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Southwest Airlines

Code: WN/SWA

Aircraft: Boeing 737-8H4

Registration: N8623F

Serial Number: 36731

Engines: 2 x CFMI CFM56-7B27E

First Flew: 11/12/2013

Age: 10.4 Years