NTSB Hearings Set in Boeing Door Plug Failure Probe

According to a new report, the aircraft was to have come out of service for maintenance the same day the in-flight structural failure occurred.

Meg Godlewski

Wednesday, March 13, 2024 at 03:46 PM ET

Verified

According to the NTSB, a warning light that activates when there is a problem with the airplane’s pressurization system had come on twice days before an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 lost a door plug in flight. [Courtesy: NTSB]

Key Takeaways:

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will conduct two public hearings in August as part of its investigation into the January 5 Boeing 737 Max 9 door plug blowout on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282.
A day prior to the incident, Alaska Airlines engineers had sought to take the aircraft out of service for maintenance due to a recurring pressurization warning light, though it continued flying with restrictions.
The NTSB's preliminary report found that the door plug was missing four critical bolts, likely from its manufacturing at the Boeing factory, and the aircraft had completed 154 flights in this condition.

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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has announced it will conduct two hearings in August as part of its investigation into how and why a door plug blew out of a Boeing 737 Max 9 passenger jet during flight.

The aircraft, operating as Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, was forced to make an emergency landing at Portland International Airport (KPDX) in Oregon on January 5 after the left midexit door plug dislodged, leading to rapid decompression.