United Airlines discovered problems with loose bolts on the plug doors of its Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft during a recent inspection. This information comes after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded all 171 of these aircraft used by US carriers in the wake of the mid-flight disaster on an Alaska carriers aircraft on January 5.
About six minutes into a trip to Ontario, California, a door plug—which is used to replace exhaust on aircraft designed for more passengers—became dislodged. Six crew members suffered major injuries during the emergency landing due to the resultant pressure. United Airlines reacted by conducting thorough inspections, which found unsecured hardware on about ten planes. During preliminary testing, Alaska Airlines also reported discovering unsecured hardware.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is looking at the likelihood of a systemic issue with the Boeing 737 Max 9 in light of these developments. Jennifer Homendy, chair of the NTSB, stated, “We’re just focused on this, but we have to figure out if this is a fleet-wide issue.”Flight 1282 reached 16,000ft (4.8km) when it began its emergency descent on Friday evening, according to flight tracking data. Images shared online – and later by investigators – showed a wide hole in the side of the craft, with oxygen masks dangling from the ceiling.
Passengers were quoted by The Oregonian newspaper as saying that a young boy seated near the affected area had his shirt ripped off by the force of the decompression. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is leading an investigation into the incident, said pilots had reported pressurisation warning lights on three previous flights made by the specific Alaska Airlines Max 9 involved in the incident.
Shares of Spirit AeroSystems, the business in charge of the first installation of the impacted part, as well as shares of Boeing saw a decrease due to worries about the incident’s potential wider effects on the company’s reputation. The incident compounds Boeing’s problems, as in 2019 two tragic crashes brought on by malfunctioning flight control software resulted in the global grounding of the company’s 737 Max 8 aircraft.
The fact that 171 planes were grounded by the FAA shows how serious the issue is. United Airlines promised to resolve the door plug installation problems prior to the aircraft type being put back into service. Alaska Airlines, which cancelled 20% of its flights, anticipates travel delays through at least the middle of the workweek.
Previous warnings on the impacted Alaska Airlines aircraft, where the auto-pressurization fail light had lighted in December and January, have been made public by the investigation. The airline prohibited the aircraft from undertaking extended flights over water in spite of these cautions. The NTSB is currently looking into any possible links between the recent disaster and these warnings.
The FAA has provided a checklist for enhanced inspections, covering both left and right cabin door exit plugs, door components, and fasteners. Before putting any aircraft back into service, the FAA underlined that corrective steps based on inspection findings must be finished.
The event included Flight 1282, which started its emergency descent at 16,000 feet, causing a large hole in the side of the aircraft and the deployment of oxygen masks. Passengers saw a small youngster rip his shirt off due to decompression forces. The events leading up to the blowout are being thoroughly investigated by the NTSB.
The impact on airlines and passengers is palpable, with United Airlines canceling numerous flights and Alaska Airlines facing significant disruptions. Both airlines are committed to thorough inspections and compliance with safety standards.
The company’s 737 Max has been described as “the most scrutinised transport aircraft in history” after a series of safety issues.
In late 2018 and early 2019, two of its aircraft were lost in near identical incidents, off the coast of Indonesia and outside the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
A total of 346 people were killed. Both crashes were caused by flawed flight control software, which ultimately forced the planes into catastrophic dives, despite the best efforts of the pilots.