USAir: Philly-to-Charlotte plane had a hole

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Officials say a pilot making a pre-flight inspection of a US Airways plane found a hole in the fuselage and the FBI is investigating.

US Airways spokeswoman Liz Landau says the airplane arrived at Charlotte Douglas International Airport Monday from Philadelphia.

She says the pilot's routine inspection discovered the hole toward the rear of the aircraft. She said there were no apparent problems during the flight but the Boeing 737 has been taken out of service.

Landau says the small hole was visible on the aircraft's exterior. The hole didn't go through into the cabin and the airline isn't sure how it developed.

The website Airliners.net says a Boeing 737-400 seats 146 people.

Landau didn't know how many passengers were on the flight. They were put on other flights.