The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has launched an investigation and, in the meantime, grounded all Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft, after a mid-air blowout of what should have been an emergency exit door on an Alaska Airlines flight.
Since the incident occurred on 5 January, it has been revealed that Alaska Airlines pilots had flagged depressurisation problems on previous flights operated on the same plane. Additionally, an investigation conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that the fact that the cockpit door is supposed to open during cabin depressurisation had been left out from the aircraft’s manual, leading to further complications for cabin crew and pilots in the midst of the chaos.
More worryingly, both United Airlines and Alaska Airlines, the largest operators of the Boeing 737 Max 9 with the specific configuration of having a mid-cabin exit door replaced by a plug-in panel, have found “installation issues” and “loose hardware” upon inspecting their fleets. “Since we began preliminary inspections on Saturday, we have found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug – for example, bolts that needed additional tightening”, United said, while Alaska Airlines has also found “some loose hardware was visible on some aircraft”.
During a staff meeting, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, acknowledged the mistake of the manufacturer. “We’re going to approach this, number one, acknowledging our mistake”, Cahoun told employees. “We’re going to approach it with 100% and complete transparency every step of the way. We need to know we’re starting from a very anxious moment with our customers and we simply have to have to deal with that reality. So it’s gonna be a lot about transparency.”
The CEO also said they will fully cooperate with the NTSB and FAA during the investigation and commended Alaska Airlines’ quick decision to ground all B737 Max 9s even before the FAA issued the Emergency Airworthiness Directive. Pieces of the plane are still being recuperated by the NTSB, which expects to have a preliminary report in 3-4 weeks.
Calhoun also reiterated the importance of thorough work, expressing his astonishment when first seeing the pictures of the incident. “When I got that picture, all I could think about – I didn’t know what happened so whoever was supposed to be in the seat next to that hole in the airplane. I’ve got kids, I’ve got grandkids and so do you. This stuff matters. Every detail matters”, he said during the staff meeting.
Meanwhile, all B737 Max 9 with a plug door remain grounded until the FAA concludes they are all safe to fly again. “To begin this process, Boeing must provide instructions to operators for inspections and maintenance. Boeing offered an initial version of instructions yesterday which they are now revising because of feedback received in response. Upon receiving the revised version of instructions from Boeing the FAA will conduct a thorough review”, the agency said in a statement. “The safety of the flying public, not speed, will determine the timeline for returning the Boeing 737-9 Max to service.”
