Following reports of an Alaska Airlines plane door flying off mid-flight earlier this month, Boeing has been called by the Federal Aviation Administration to inspect mid-exit door plugs of its 737-900ER aircraft.
“The Boeing 737-900ER is not part of the newer MAX fleet but has the same door plug design,” said the FAA in a Sunday notice, referencing the model of the Alaska Airlines plane. “In accordance with their Safety Management Systems, operators conducted additional inspections on the Boeing 737-900ER following the loss of a mid-cabin door plug on a Boeing 737-9 MAX airplane.”
Those planes were grounded shortly after the incident.
As of Tuesday, Boeing announced that it “is an active participant in the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board investigation of Alaska Airlines flight 1282,” but that it is limited as to what information it can reveal. It established a webpage regarding the investigation.
Since the report about the door, other safety issues related to Boeing aircraft have made headlines. Last week, Audacy reported on a Boeing plane that was apparently spewing sparks over Florida. This week, FOX reported on a Delta Boeing 757 that lost its nose “moments before it was supposed to take off from Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport” Saturday.
According to NBC News, CEO Ben Minicucci of Alaska Airlines said in-house inspections of the carrier's Boeing 737 Max 9 planes carried out after the door incident revealed that many of the planes had loose bolts.
“I’m more than frustrated and disappointed,” Minicucci said. “I am angry. This happened to Alaska Airlines. It happened to our guests and happened to our people. And – my demand on Boeing is what are they going to do to improve their quality programs in-house.”
CNBC reported that United Airlines is considering having a fleet with no Boeing 737 Max 10 planes in the wake of the Alaska Airlines incident. Per the outlet, Max 10 is the largest model of the plane and hasn’t yet been certified by the FAA.
United CEO Scott Kirby “expressed frustration at Boeing for the most recent manufacturing problem” that caused the door to fly off.
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Boeing announced Tuesday that its 737 factory teams will hold a “Quality Stand Down” in Renton, Wash., Thursday.
“During the session, production, delivery and support teams will pause for a day so employees can take part in working sessions focused on quality,” said the company in a press release. “This is part of the immediate actions recently shared by Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal.”
More “Quality Stand Down” events are expected over the next couple weeks, Boeing added.
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