Alaska and United Airlines Report Loose Parts in Boeing 737 Max 9 Door Panels
PBS News Hour:
Federal investigators say a door panel slid up before flying off
an Alaska Airlines jetliner last week, and they are looking at
whether four bolts that were supposed to help hold the panel in
place might have been missing when the plane took off. The
comments Monday from the National Transportation Safety Board came
shortly after Alaska and United Airlines reported separately that
they found loose parts in the panels — or door plugs — of some
other Boeing 737 Max 9 jets.
“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,”
Chicago-based United said.
Alaska said that as it began examining its Max 9s, “Initial
reports from our technicians indicate some loose hardware was
visible on some aircraft.”
This tidbit seems nutty to me:
The jet involved in Friday’s blowout is brand-new, having been put
in service in November. After a cabin-pressurization system
warning light came on during three flights, the airline stopped
flying it over the Pacific to Hawaii. Some aviation experts
questioned why Alaska continued using the plane on overland routes
until it figured out what was causing the pressurization warnings.
Homendy said Monday, however, that NTSB has seen no evidence to
link the warnings with the blowout of the door plug.
There may be no evidence yet, but what are the odds that a door plug that blew off a brand-new jet mid-flight — in a fleet of planes they’ve now discovered have loose bolts holding those doors in place — wasn’t to blame for the cabin-pressurization warnings?
★
PBS News Hour:
Federal investigators say a door panel slid up before flying off
an Alaska Airlines jetliner last week, and they are looking at
whether four bolts that were supposed to help hold the panel in
place might have been missing when the plane took off. The
comments Monday from the National Transportation Safety Board came
shortly after Alaska and United Airlines reported separately that
they found loose parts in the panels — or door plugs — of some
other Boeing 737 Max 9 jets.
“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,”
Chicago-based United said.
Alaska said that as it began examining its Max 9s, “Initial
reports from our technicians indicate some loose hardware was
visible on some aircraft.”
This tidbit seems nutty to me:
The jet involved in Friday’s blowout is brand-new, having been put
in service in November. After a cabin-pressurization system
warning light came on during three flights, the airline stopped
flying it over the Pacific to Hawaii. Some aviation experts
questioned why Alaska continued using the plane on overland routes
until it figured out what was causing the pressurization warnings.
Homendy said Monday, however, that NTSB has seen no evidence to
link the warnings with the blowout of the door plug.
There may be no evidence yet, but what are the odds that a door plug that blew off a brand-new jet mid-flight — in a fleet of planes they’ve now discovered have loose bolts holding those doors in place — wasn’t to blame for the cabin-pressurization warnings?