NEW : Spokeswoman : Southwest planes grounded to see if they need further inspection . He calls April 3 FAA , says it 's ` ` one of the worst safety violations '' he 's seen . The whistle-blowers say FAA managers knew about the lapse in safety at Southwest , but decided to allow the airline to conduct the safety checks on a slower schedule because taking `` aircraft out of service would have disrupted Southwest Airlines ' flight schedule . '' FAA says Southwest jets made almost 60,000 flights without fuselage inspections . Whistle - blowers say FAA knew of violations but did n't want to cut them .
NEW : Spokeswoman : Southwest planes grounded to see if they need further inspection . He calls April 3 FAA , says it 's ` ` one of the worst safety violations '' he 's seen . FAA says Southwest jets made almost 60,000 flights without fuselage inspections . Whistle - blowers say FAA knew of violations but did n't want to cut them .