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 separation attributed the probable cause to Boeing's inadequate training, guidance, and oversight, leading to the door plug being reinstalled without required retaining bolts after rivet repairs.
The report recommends extensive changes for Boeing, including redesigning and retrofitting door plugs, implementing updated safety risk management, developing structured and recurrent training for manufacturing personnel, and enhancing quality management systems.
Recommendations for the FAA include issuing airworthiness directives for door plug retrofits, improving compliance enforcement, requiring 25-hour cockpit voice recorders, and studying factors affecting 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.
