DALLAS (AP) — Federal safety officials said Monday theyare ordering additional inspections of
some Boeing 737 jets after a holetore open in a Southwest Airlines plane during flight in 2009.The
Federal Aviation Administration said that it will seek more detailed inspections for cracks along the
tops of the planes.TheFAA estimated that the cost of inspecting 109 older Boeing 737s will beabout $5.2
million. The agency said it has no idea how many planes willneed repairs.The order will cover 737-300,
-400 and -500 modelsof the popular passenger aircraft. Southwest’s entire fleet is Boeing737s, although
many are newer -700 and -800 models. The agency saidrepairs could cost up to $17,765 per plane, or $1.94
million for all 109U.S.-registered planes covered by the order.The FAA said it would publish an order
covering the inspections in Wednesday’s Federal Register.TheFAA issued rules in 2005 to detect metal
fatigue caused by pressurizingthe cabin during every flight — hundreds of times per year.In astatement
on Monday, the agency said those rules would be expanded toinclude new inspection methods with scanning
technology, checks of moreareas of the plane, the installation of additional reinforcements andchecks
for loose fasteners.The agency published a proposal foradditional inspections in January 2012, and it
was endorsed by theNational Transportation Safety Board, which investigates accidents andother safety
incidents.Boeing spokesman Miles Kotay said the newinspections were "already well under way —
hundreds already have beencompleted worldwide, with few findings" of additional problems
withcracking along the planes’ crowns.Brandy King, a spokeswoman forDallas-based Southwest Airlines Co.,
said the airline was prepared tocomply with the FAA and does not expect any impact on Southwest
flightschedules while the inspections are done."We remain completely confident in the airworthiness
of our fleet," she said.Thenew FAA requirements stem from a 2009 incident in which a
Southwestflight from Nashville to Baltimore had to make an emergency landing inCharleston, W.Va., after
a hole more than a foot long appeared in theroof near the tail. Boeing issued a special service bulletin
to airlinesoperating the planes in 2010.In 2011, a different Southwest jetwas forced to land in Yuma,
Ariz., but authorities believe that incidentinvolved cracking in a different type of joint where panels
of aluminumskin overlap.Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.