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.
Some speculation includes the possibility the door was removed to facilitate access during final assembly, and that this practice was not uncommon.
In response, the FAA issued an emergency airworthiness directive grounding all 737-9 Max aircraft operated by U.S. carriers—Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, approximately 171 of them—until detailed inspections were made. At this writing, investigations by the NTSB, the FAA and other parties are ongoing.
According to Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci, his company found “many” loose bolts. United Airlines said its inspections also found loose bolts.
“Now the NTSB investigation is going to figure out why that was a faulty door, whether it was bad installation, missing hardware, a manufacturing issue, but there’s no doubt that Alaska received an airplane off the production line with a faulty door,” Minicucci told NBC News.
It was the latest event in Boeing’s 737 Max saga, which includes two destroyed aircraft and 346 fatalities, plus lengthy worldwide groundings.
Right now, there’s little more in the way of hard facts. If early reports about bolts not having been reinstalled on Boeing’s factory floor are correct, that means one or more workers knowingly left behind an unfinished task and/or fudged paperwork. I guess I’m terminally naive, but I don’t understand how someone could do that, given the potential consequences.
