Cracks found in 5 more Southwest planes

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Washington, DC:  The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) displayed a damaged section of a Southwest Airline jet on Tuesday, after the Boeing 737-300 sprung a hole during a flight on Friday, forcing an emergency landing at an airbase in Arizona.

In response, Southwest grounded 79 sister planes over the weekend.

Boeing was surprised when a section of a fuselage ripped open in flight because the plane is comparatively new, a company official said on Tuesday, as the airline cleared most of its older 737 planes 'fit for duty'.

Southwest said it had inspected nearly all of the jets it grounded after the accident on Friday.

NTSB Chairman, Deborah A. P. Hersman, stressed that her agency was working to make "this fleet of aircraft is as safe as possible."

"If we identify any issues that need to be addressed, we have the ability to issue urgent recommendations," she said.

Five aircraft were found with the same kinds of cracks suspected of causing the 5-foot-long (1.5 metre) hole to open up as the jet cruised at around 34,000 feet.

The planes are being repaired, the airline said.