Federal air-safety regulators are investigating Southwest Airlines Co. for widespread failures to accurately track the combined weight of checked bags loaded into each of its jets, according to government officials and internal agency documents.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s yearlong civil probe, the documents show, found systemic and significant mistakes with employee calculations and luggage-loading practices, resulting in potential discrepancies when pilots compute takeoff weights. The inaccuracies ranged from a few dozen pounds to more than 1,000 pounds in excess of what the paperwork indicated, sparking disputes between the company and some agency inspectors about potential safety consequences.
