737 Max that experienced blowout missing bolts, safety board says

Update:

• An investigation into the Boeing 737 Max 9 jet that had a midflight blowout of its door plug showed four bolts missing from the door, a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report says. 
• Engineers removed the bolts while working on rivets at Boeing’s Renton, Washington, facility. A photo documenting the repairs shows the workers did not replace the bolts after repairs, according to the report.
• The Federal Aviation Administration asked all operators to inspect, as soon as possible, the four locations where bolts hold the door plugs in place on all Boeing 737 Max 9 jets and jets using the same plug, according to a safety alert.

Alaska Airlines Boeing door overview: 

• Who: All 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes are grounded after a blocked exit door blew off during an Alaska Airlines flight Friday.
• Why: No one was seriously injured during the incident, in part due to lower-than-cruising altitude and unoccupied seats.
• Where: The Boeing door blew off minutes into a flight from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California.

(Jan. 10, 2024)

A flight door on a Boeing 737 Max 9 Alaska Airlines flight blew off on Friday, but the passengers and crew aboard the flight are uninjured, according to CNBC.

The incident led the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ground all 171 of the Boeing 737 Max 9s currently in service until it completes an investigation and ensures the planes are safe, CNN reports.

“The fact that it was a practically brand new aircraft is a cause for concern,” Jim Hall, a former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, tells CNBC.

Warning light came on 3 previous times

A warning light came on during the plane’s previous flights, preventing the aircraft from use in long flights over water, NPR reports the National Transportation Safety Board says about the Alaska Airlines Boeing plane. 

The warning light came on during flights on Dec. 7, 2023, and Jan. 3 and 4, 2024, The Associated Press reports. Then, on Jan. 5, the door plug broke off during the flight.

In a press conference, NTSB Chairperson Jennifer Homendy says she did not know the details of what happened Dec. 7, but that the light came on during a flight on Jan. 3 and 4 after the plane landed, the AP reports.

The door plug was ultimately found in the backyard of a Portland school teacher, the AP reports. She added that two cellphones were also found — one on the side of the road and the other in a yard.

A class action lawsuit claims Alaska Airlines and its subsidiary Horizon Air bear responsibility for the actions of an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who allegedly tried to bring down an Horizon Air-operated airplane with 79 passengers and two flight attendants on board Oct. 22.

Have you flown on a Boeing 737 Max 9? Let us know in the comments.

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