Briefs

The cracks that caused a Southwest Airlines (LUV) jet to rip open midflight on Apr. 1 developed on the Boeing 737-300 much earlier than expected, according to Boeing (BA). The planemaker says the metal fatigue wasn't forecast to occur until after 60,000 flights, while the Southwest jet had only flown 39,781. After the incident, Southwest inspected 79 of its 737s and grounded five found to have cracks. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is now requiring emergency inspections on all 737-300s, 737-400s, and 737-500s that have made more than 30,000 flights. Boeing built those planes before 2000, when the company improved the design of the world's most widely flown jet.

Freedom Group, the firearms and ammunition company controlled by buyout firm Cerberus Capital Management, called off plans for an IPO. Madison (N.C.)-based Freedom filed for an IPO in October 2009, saying it would seek to raise as much as $200 million. Plans for the listing were shelved after the gunmaker experienced several setbacks, including a slower firearms market in 2010 and the September departure of CEO Theodore Torbeck. Freedom now may arrange a private placement instead.