Alaska Airlines Boeing part that came loose in mid-flight was not secured by bolts

Apparently someone forgot to put the bolts in or to tighten them.

The piece that jumped into the air in mid-flight on an Alaska Airlines plane did not have the four corresponding fasteners to keep it securely fastened, according to preliminary results of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation, published this week. Tuesday by the organization.

Tests of the recovered door and fuselage indicate that all four bolts were “missing,” according to the NTSB report, which chooses not to draw any conclusions about the cause of the Jan. 5 crash.

“Overall, the damage patterns observed and the absence of contact damage or deformation around the holes associated with the vertical motion stop bolts and top guide bolts in the top guide hardware, "Hinges and hardware recovered from the bottom track of the aft hinges indicate that the four bolts preventing upward movement of the [intermediate exit door] plug were missing before it moved up off the stop pads." says the 19-page report, illustrated with photographs and graphs.

“The investigation continues to determine which manufacturing documents were used to authorize the opening and closing of the left [middle emergency door gap] plug during the riveting work,” the document adds, referring to the panel that came loose.

Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, a Boeing 737-9, which had taken off from Portland International Airport (Oregon) en route to Ontario (California) had to return to the airport of origin after the plug in the middle left exit door became detached. release causing rapid decompression.

Two flight crew members, four cabin crew members and 171 passengers were on board.

Seven passengers and a flight attendant suffered minor injuries.

The report also recounts the commotion caused by the accident.

“The captain said that, as he ascended to about 16,000 feet, a loud boom was heard.

The flight crew said his ears popped and the captain said his head was pushed into the head-up display (HUD) and his headphones were pushed up, almost falling off his head.

“The first officer stated that her headphones had completely come loose due to the rapid release of air from the flight deck,” the report said.

Authorities revealed after the accident that Alaska Airlines had decided to restrict the use of the plane that suffered the problem and stop using it for flights to Hawaii after a warning light came on that could have indicated a pressurization problem on three different flights.

The company stopped using it on long flights over water so that the plane “could return very quickly to an airport” if necessary, Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), explained Sunday. acronym in English), at a press conference.

Some experts have questioned whether the company would continue operating the plane after these warnings if it did not trust the device enough to allow it to cross the sea safely.

Boeing has been in crisis mode since that panel that covers the gap that in other configurations is used as an emergency door detached, leaving a gap in the fuselage in mid-flight.

After proceeding to the immobilization of the vast majority of the aircraft of the 737 Max 9 model, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA, for its acronym in English) opened a formal investigation against the company and then announced that it was subjecting the production process of Boeing, in a serious blow to the company.

This Tuesday, FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker said in an appearance before a House Transportation subcommittee that his agency is halfway through a review of manufacturing at Boeing, but that it already knows changes must be made. in the way the government oversees the aircraft manufacturer.

Whitaker has suggested that Boeing, under pressure from airlines to produce large numbers of planes, has not paid enough attention to safety.

The company is taking steps to strengthen quality in the 737 program, including additional inspections at its factory and at major suppliers and greater oversight by airlines.

It also decided to halt 737 production for a day to refocus its employees on quality.

Additionally, Boeing has appointed an outside expert to conduct an in-depth independent evaluation of the quality management system.

Sequence of problems

The problems have not stopped.

This Sunday, the aircraft manufacturer revealed that last Thursday an employee at its supplier Spirit AeroSystems notified his boss that two holes in the fuselage of 737 Max aircraft had not been drilled exactly according to Boeing's requirements.

The supplier passed it on to the manufacturer, which will have to do additional work on about 50 planes, which may delay some deliveries.

A puncture problem in an aft pressure bulkhead supplied by Spirit AeroSystems already slowed 737 Max deliveries last year.

Another issue with tailfin fittings affected production in early 2023.

Boeing will also have to deal with the possibility of a work stoppage later this year.

Boeing's largest union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, will demand a 40% pay increase over three or four years, emboldened by the resurgence of the American labor movement, a shortage of skilled aerospace workers and pressure on Boeing to stabilize work in its factories, Bloomberg reports.

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