Southwest Airlines New Convertible Service to Sacramento

Tired of sitting in those stuffy old airline cabins?  Wish you could get some fresh air during those long, crowded flights?  Southwest Airlines started their new convertible service from Phoenix to Sacramento today:

A Southwest Airlines passenger jet flying from Phoenix to Sacramento, Calif., made an emergency landing in Yuma, Ariz., Friday after experiencing "rapid decompression," the FAA said.

Flight 812 landed safely at Yuma Marine Corps Air Station/International Airport at 4:07 p.m., the FAA said.

The cause of the decompression was not known. There were reports that a hole opened up in the plane.

“They had just taken drink orders when I heard a huge sound and oxygen masks came down and we started making a rapid descent," a passenger named Cindy told CBS13 of Sacramento.

"They said we’d be making an emergency landing. There was a hole in the fuselage about three feet long. You could see the insulation and the wiring. You could see a tear the length of one of the ceiling panels."

Of course, the downside to the convertible service is the outside air is usually around -50 degrees and is largely devoid of oxygen, but other than that, it's not bad.

In all seriousness, though, this is likely going to be caused by metal fatigue. Planes like those flown by Southwest go through hundreds if not thousands of pressurization cycles every year. Imagine a metal balloon being blown up and deflated several times a day and you get the picture. Eventually stress cracks can develop and if not caught in time, you can actually tear the fuselage. It's happened a number of times before on similar aircraft, especially on airlines that do a lot of short haul flights.