The aircraft experienced explosive decompression after the door plug blew off in flight. [Courtesy: NTSB]
Key Takeaways:
The door plug that blew off Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, causing "explosive decompression," was found in a Portland-area teacher's backyard and is a crucial piece of evidence for the NTSB investigation.
The NTSB is examining the door plug's mechanism, reviewing previous auto-pressurization warnings on the aircraft, and analyzing internal damage, with no serious injuries reported among the 177 persons on board.
A significant impediment to the investigation is that the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) was overwritten due to its two-hour limit, leading the NTSB to advocate for extending CVR recording times to 25 hours and retrofitting existing aircraft.
Following the incident, Alaska Airlines and subsequently the FAA grounded all Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft for immediate inspections, leading to widespread flight cancellations.
Federal officials have found the fuselage door plug blown off the Alaska Airlines flight on Friday night out of Portland, Oregon. According to National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy, the door plug was found in the backyard of a Portland-area schoolteacher.
The loss of the door plug resulted in what has been described as “explosive decompression.”
CREATE A FREE ACCOUNT
Sign up to keep reading
Create a free account to continue. Already a member? Sign in below.
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.
