The in-flight depressurization of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 over Arizona earlier this month prompted the Air Force to inspect its C-40B executive transports assigned to the 89th Airlift Wing at Andrews AFB, Md. The inspectors found these aircraft, based on the 737, to be in excellent condition, reported CNN. The C-40Bs are significantly newer than the 737-300 model involved in the Southwest incident, according to CNN. Stress fatigue from repeated pressurization caused a 737’s fuselage joint to fail, tearing a five-foot gap in the aircraft’s skin and necessitating an emergency landing at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona on April 1.
The Space Force should take bold, decisive steps—and soon—to develop the capabilities and architecture needed to support more flexible, dynamic operations in orbit and counter Chinese aggression and technological progress, according to a new report from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
