Jean MartinA new statement says that a door that blew away from a Boeing 737 Max soon after take-off may have required to be adequately secured.
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released initial findings regarding the incident involving an Alaska Airlines plane in January. According to the report, four critical bolts intended to secure the unused door to the fuselage were found to be missing.
Boeing’s Response
Responding to the report, Boeing accepted responsibility for the incident. Boeing’s president, Dave Calhoun, emphasized the necessity of preventing such events from occurring on airplanes leaving their factory and pledged to improve quality and stakeholder confidence through a comprehensive plan.
Sequence of Events
The incident occurred shortly after Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 departed from Portland International Airport.
A panel covering an unused emergency exit, known as a door plug, suddenly blew out, resulting in a significant breach in the fuselage.
The missing bolts allowed the door panel to dislodge from its position and detach from the aircraft, leading to a rapid loss of cabin pressure.
Manufacturing and Installation
The door plug, supplied by Boeing’s partner Spirit AeroSystems, was initially installed in the fuselage but later removed due to production-related damage. Upon reinstallation, at least three of the four locking bolts were not properly secured.
Photographic evidence suggests that the bolts were missing before the door moved out of its normal position, indicating a pre-existing issue.
Next Steps
The NTSB’s preliminary findings shed light on the circumstances surrounding the incident, highlighting potential lapses in manufacturing and installation processes.
Further investigation will be necessary to determine the root cause of the missing bolts and to implement corrective measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
