KUALA LUMPUR – Troubled planemaker Boeing is now under further scrutiny with the new safety probe initiated by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after the near-fatal Alaska Airlines incident involving its 737 Max 9 last week.
“This incident should have never happened and it cannot happen again,” said the regulator in a statement, referring to the plane’s door plug that flew off the fuselage six minutes into takeoff.
“Boeing’s manufacturing practices need to comply with the high safety standards they’re legally accountable to meet.”
This could be a result of reports from Alaska and United Airlines of “loose” hardware on delivered planes.
The FAA probe, which often results in hefty penalties, involves “additional discrepancies on other Boeing 737-9”.
Boeing has 10 days to respond and must include the root cause of the Alaska Airlines incident, actions to prevent recurrences and other mitigating factors.
The planemaker has been in trouble before due to the fatal 2018 and 2019 crashes involving the 737 model, which led to a lengthy global grounding of the aircraft.
Currently, US regulators have grounded 171 737 MAX 9 planes that have the same configuration as the Alaska jet.
Earlier, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun vowed complete transparency and that the company was on a fact-finding mission.
When the door plug flew off, it depressurised the cabin and left a gaping hole in the fuselage, exposing the passengers of Alaska Flight 1282 to open air.
All 171 passengers and six crew members returned to Portland International Airport safely, with no serious injuries reported.
It was reported that the four bolts of the 29kg door plug could have either been missing, mis-installed or broken.
National Transport Safety Bureau (NTSB) chair Jennifer Homendy said a microscopic examination of the door plug would determine from “scratch marks” whether the bolts were installed.
The four bolts that should have kept the door plug in place are still missing.
This could leave supplier Spirit AeroSystems liable for manufacturing and installing the door plug and Boeing for final inspection before sealing it behind insulation and the sidewall.
The door plug is a panel used to seal a fuselage cutout for an optional emergency exit door. Alaska Airlines planes do not have a door there, and passengers inside would just see another window. – January 12, 2024