Alleged Pictures Emerge of Strange Symbols on Southwest Planes

Yesterday we reported that strange writing has been appearing on the bellies of Southwest Airlines planes. ABC15 in Phoenix cited sources saying that the symbols appeared to be "Arabic words." Now, we are getting alleged pictures of the symbols.

The website Gawker has published exclusive pictures that it received from a tipster claiming to show the writing. The pictures, according to the source, "They are on the exhaust pipe of the engines. Usually on the inboard side. And most of them are described as looking like swords. (picture an elongated 'S' with a line crossing it toward one end.)"

Here's what he means:

The source claims to be a Southwest employee and says that although the markings have been reportedly made using a chemical process, to him they "look less etched and more wiped on with grease." That could be true regarding the symbols he's captured but doesn't completely rule out the other reports.

He's also not sure the symbols are Arabic writing.

"I havent seen any 'arabic' writing either," he told Gawker. "All the marks look like that 'sword'. I have seen one other plane that had a star with 3 horizontal wavy lines to the right of it. But Ive only seen it once."

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Southwest told ABC15 that the markings pose no threat to passengers or travel.