By now, I’m sure you’ve heard about the exit door plug that departed a relatively new Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 Max on January 5 as it climbed out of 16,000 feet after departing Portland, Ore., on its way to Ontario, Calif. No one was seriously injured; the plane returned for an otherwise uneventful landing.
By the time you read this, there likely will be additional information available, but it looks like the accident aircraft’s exit door plug was removed by Boeing after it was delivered by Wichita-based Spirit Aerosystems, the 737 fuselage subcontractor, and then reinstalled before Alaska Airlines accepted the completed airplane.
