Mid-exit door (MED) plug from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. [Credit: NTSB]
Key Takeaways:
The NTSB's final report on the Alaska Airlines 737-9 door plug incident concluded the probable cause was Boeing's failure to provide adequate training, guidance, and oversight for its parts removal processes, resulting in missing retaining bolts.
The report issued numerous recommendations for Boeing, focusing on improving manufacturing processes, safety culture, employee training, and quality management systems, including redesigning and retrofitting the door plug.
Recommendations for the FAA include issuing airworthiness directives for door plug retrofits, enhancing surveillance of production approval holders, requiring 25-hour cockpit voice recorders, and conducting studies to increase child restraint system usage for children under two.
Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
