On May 25, 2025, Southwest Airlines flight WN168 from Tampa to Denver landed safely after the airline said the Boeing 737-8 MAX may have been struck by lightning while approaching Denver. Southwest said it took that aircraft out of service for inspection and reported no injuries. The action applied to the individual airplane, not Southwest’s entire 737 MAX fleet.
What happened on Southwest flight WN168?
WN168 was flying from Tampa International Airport to Denver International Airport on May 25, 2025. Aviation reporting identified the airplane as Boeing 737-8 MAX registration N8887Q. Southwest spokesperson Laura Swift said the aircraft “sustained a possible lightning strike while inbound to DEN and landed safely.” Swift added that Southwest’s maintenance teams took it out of service for inspection and that there were no injuries. CBS Colorado reported the airline’s statement.
The word “possible” matters: Southwest’s public statement did not say that a lightning strike was conclusively confirmed. Secondary aviation coverage reported that the flight lost radio communication with air traffic control after the possible strike and landed in Denver about 12 minutes later. One Mile at a Time covered the communication loss; Airportia, citing The Aviation Herald, reported the flight and aircraft details.
What does “grounds” mean in this incident?
Southwest removed N8887Q from service so maintenance teams could inspect it. That is an aircraft-specific precaution, not evidence that the airline grounded its whole 737 MAX fleet. A secondary report said the airplane remained on the ground in Denver more than 15 hours after landing; that observation does not establish the inspection result or the precise time it returned to service.
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What is known—and not known—about the inspection?
The public reporting cited here confirms that Southwest planned an inspection, but does not report what maintenance found. It does not establish whether the airplane sustained damage, when it returned to service, or whether the FAA made an incident-specific finding. The FAA listing reviewed for this event did not surface a matching entry; that alone does not prove that no agency record exists.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How this differs from the 2019 Boeing 737 MAX grounding
This May 2025 event should not be confused with the separate 2019 grounding. On March 13, 2019, the FAA ordered a temporary grounding of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft operated by U.S. airlines or in U.S. territory. Southwest said it removed 34 MAX 8s from scheduled service at that time. That was a historical fleet-level action; the 2025 response described here was taking one airplane out of service for inspection. Southwest’s newsroom statement provides the airline’s historical context.
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