Several passengers aboard that aircraft—operating as Alaska Airlines Flight 1282—have received letters from the FBI, the Seattle Times reported.

Last week the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched a criminal investigation into the January 5 door plug blowout. The FBI serves as the principal investigative arm of the DOJ.

• READ MORE: Additional Passengers Sue Alaska Airlines, Boeing

Mark Lindquist, a Seattle area attorney who represents 26 of the 177 people who were on board the airliner in litigation against Boeing and Alaska Airlines, confirmed the passengers have been contacted by the FBI because they have been identified as a possible victim of a crime. The FBI letter warned the passengers that the investigation could take several months.

“In an event like this, it’s normal for the DOJ to be conducting an investigation,” anAlaska Airlines spokesperson told FLYING. “We are fully cooperating and do not believe we are a target of the investigation.”

• READ MORE: NTSB Hearings Set in Boeing Door Plug Failure Probe

Said Steve Bernd, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Seattle field office, told FLYING: “The FBI does not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.” 

According to the Washington Post, the FBI letter did not name Boeing.

The aircraft manufacturer did not respond to FLYING’s  request for comment.

The door plug blowout occurred  shortly after takeoff from Portland International Airport (KPDX) in Oregon. There were no serious physical injuries, and the aircraft was able to return to the airport for landing.

The event prompted the immediate grounding of all 737 Max 9 aircraft, pending inspection of the door plugs. The Max 9s remained on the ground while Alaska Airlines and  United Airlines—the two carriers who operate the aircraft—conducted inspections of the door plugs.

The preliminary investigation conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed the four bolts that were supposed to be installed to keep the door plug in place were missing. 

• READ MORE: ‘Changes…Need to Happen,’ Boeing Official Says

The Max 9 had performed more than 150 takeoffs and landings since it was delivered to Alaska Airlines in October 2023. The month preceding the incident, there were three reports of problems with the pressurization system. The airline restricted the aircraft from overwater routes and was allegedly preparing to bring it in for maintenance at the end of its duty day on January 5— the day of the blowout.

The FAA has since conducted an audit of Boeing and has given the manufacturing giant 90 days to demonstrate improved quality control procedures. According to Boeing, changes are already underway to improve the oversight of the production process.

The post FBI Contacts Passengers Aboard Door Plug Blowout Flight appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

“There’s changes that need to happen,” Brian West, Boeing’s chief financial officer, said Wednesday in addressing the Bank of America Global Industrials Conference in London. “There’s no doubt about it. But we’re going to do so diligently and expeditiously.”

In remarks, West acknowledged repercussions had followed a recent incident where a door plug dislodged from a Boeing 737 Max 9 passenger jet mid-flight, leading to rapid decompression.

“The events of January 5, and Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, and everything we’ve learned since, we acknowledge that we need to improve upon safety and quality and conformance,” West said.

• READ MORE: Boeing Changes Leadership of 737 Program

As a result of the event, which triggered a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation and FAA audit, Boeing is taking a careful look at its processes, West told the forum.

“There are changes that need to happen,” he said. “[We’re] deliberately going too slow to get this right. We’re the ones who made the decision to constrain rates on the 737 program below 38 per month until we feel like we’re ready, and we’ll feel the impact of that over the next several months.”

No More Travel Work

In late February, the FAA said it was giving Boeing 90 days to identify ways to improve safety culture and address compliance issues. One of the first changes the company identified as necessary was putting an end to “traveled work,” West said.

“Traveled work has existed for a very long time, and in recent years, we tried to get ahead of it,” he said. “Turns out it wasn’t enough. For years, we prioritized the movement of the airplane through the factory over getting it done right, and that’s got to change. The leadership team got it in the immediate aftermath of January the 5th. We control how this happens, and it’s about our resolve to get ahead and get after traveled work.”

• READ MORE: FAA Gives Boeing 90 Days to Improve

West noted that Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun is in the factory “personally making sure that we do get control of it, because once you do reduce travel to work, your quality gets better, your stability gets better, and probably most importantly, the work of the mechanic gets better.”

On March 1, for example, the company announced it would no longer be traveling work between contractor Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas, which manufactures fuselages, and the Boeing plant in Renton, Washington.

“We will only accept a fully conforming fuselage from Spirit, which means in the near term, there might be variability of supply,” West said.  “But long term the predictability that we’re going to get is dramatically better, and the nonconformances dropped significantly in our factory because it takes those nonconformances and it pushes them upstream where they belong to get actioned.”

West stressed that production is continuing at Boeing, and it has aircraft scheduled for delivery through 2028.

Impact on Customers

West acknowledged that the slowdown is impacting Boeing’s customers.

“[But] they have been supportive of everything we’re trying to do to enhance safety and quality for the industry,” he said. “We are in regular, very transparent communications, and they know precisely where we stand and the progress that we’re making, and we, at the same time, have to understand what their needs are as they think about their flight schedules and their passengers.

“Ultimately, our job is to make sure that we can execute on behalf of our customers in a way that’s more predictable, more dependable, with the highest quality in mind, and we’re going to do that one airplane at a time, and our customers are hanging with us and we’re appreciative of that.”

The post ‘Changes…Need to Happen,’ Boeing Official Says appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Testifying before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy said that despite numerous requests, NTSB has not received the names of 25 people working at the company’s Renton, Washington, facility responsible for opening, closing, and removing the door plug involved in the January 5 event or documentation supporting their work.

“Wow,” responded the committee’s ranking member, Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who asked for the update. “Are you telling us that even two months later you still do not know who actually opened the door plug?”

“That’s correct—and it’s not for lack of trying,” Homendy said, pointing out that it’s not unusual when critical information is not provided immediately after an investigation.

“But for this one, we know for a fact that there is a team that deals with the doors in Renton. The manager has been out on medical leave, so we’ve not been able to interview that individual. We’ve asked for the names of the other 25 people and have not received the names. We’ve asked for the records with respect to what occurred. We asked what shift did it occur on. It’s absurd that two months later we don’t have that.”

• READ MORE: FAA Gives Boeing 90 Days to Improve

When asked by committee chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) whether Boeing has a policy of maintaining documents on work such as installing or removing doors and door plugs, Homendy said the NTSB has not been able to verify that with Boeing.

“And without that information, that raises concerns about quality assurance, quality management, and safety management systems within Boeing,” Homendy said.

Said Cantwell: “It’s beyond disappointing. We have an entire economy that depends on people getting this right, and it seems like this…is stymying your investigation.”

Shortly after the hearing ended, Boeing responded to FLYING’s request for comment with a statement asserting that the company “early in the investigation” provided NTSB with names of employees, including door specialists, that it believed had relevant information.

“We have now provided the full list of individuals on the 737 door team, in response to a recent request. With respect to documentation, if the door plug removal was undocumented there would be no documentation to share. We will continue to cooperate fully and transparently with the NTSB’s investigation.”

Spirit AeroSystems Called Out

Homendy also testified to transparency problems with Spirit AeroSystems, the Wichita, Kansas-based manufacturer of fuselages for the Boeing 737. Spirit has also been part of the investigation.

Referring to individuals that NTSB believed were employed by Spirit, “we were just informed last week that they’re actually not Spirit employees, they’re contractors,” she told the committee. “All three people work for three different entities.”

NTSB was not informed of that by Spirit. “That information was told to us through the individuals being interviewed that contacted us directly. We have engaged our attorney on this matter, just so that you’re aware,” she said.

Spirit representative Joe Buccino told FLYING that, as a party to the NTSB investigation, “we are unable to comment on any matters associated with the investigation. We are coordinating with the NTSB to address the chair’s comments regarding this matter.”

• READ MORE: Boeing Confirms Discussions About Acquiring Spirit AeroSystems

Cruz, who called the lack of response from Boeing “utterly unacceptable,” asked Homendy to inform the committee in writing whether or not the aerospace giant provides the information requested by NTSB by March 13.

“This investigation needs to get to the bottom of what occurred, and what caused the accident,” Cruz said.

The post NTSB Chief Testifies That Boeing Is Stonewalling on 737 Door Plug Blowout appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Spirit AeroSystems was part of Boeing until 2005, when the company was split off and sold to private equity investors. Spirit continued its relationship with Boeing as a contractor, making components for aircraft that include the fuselage of the 737 line. According to investigators, Spirit AeroSystems built the fuselage with the door plug that failed in flight on January 5, resulting in an explosive decompression and a worldwide temporary grounding of the 737 Max 9 fleet.

The discussion to put the Spirit AeroSystems back under the Boeing umbrella is seen as an effort of improving quality control over the components and their installation in Boeing products.

• READ MORE: FAA Critical of Boeing Safety Culture

According to a March 1 statement from Boeing, the company has been working closely with Spirit AeroSystems and its leadership to strengthen the quality of the commercial airplanes that they build together.

“We confirm that our collaboration has resulted in preliminary discussions about making Spirit AeroSystems a part of Boeing again,” the Boeing statement reads. “We believe that the reintegration of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems’ manufacturing operations would further strengthen aviation safety, improve quality, and serve the interests of our customers, employees, and shareholders. Although there can be no assurance that we will be able to reach an agreement, we are committed to finding ways to continue to improve the safety and quality of the airplanes on which millions of people depend each and every day.”

FLYING reached out to Spirit AeroSystems but it did not respond by press time.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) preliminary report on the January 5 event, the fuselage with the door plug was shipped to Boeing’s Renton, Washington, factory for aircraft final assembly. At Renton the technicians noted that some of the interior bulkhead rivets were improperly installed and needed to be replaced. This required the removal of part of the aircraft interior and the door plug. The door plug was then reinstalled but without the bolts necessary to keep it secure.

• READ MORE: Boeing Responds to Missing Bolts

The aircraft became part of Alaska Airlines fleet and was put into service in November 2023. In December the flight crews noticed warning annunciations from the aircraft’s pressurization system. These were documented and reported to maintenance, but the aircraft stayed in use because the pressurization system has a triple redundancy.

On January 5, as the aircraft climbed through 16,000 feet shortly after takeoff from Portland International Airport (KPDX) in Oregon the door plug blew off the aircraft, explosively depressurizing the cabin. The flight crew declared an emergency, and the aircraft returned to KPDX.

There were no serious injuries, but the FAA grounded all 737 Max 9s until the door plugs could be inspected.

The post Boeing Confirms Discussions About Acquiring Spirit AeroSystems appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

According to an FAA statement, the agency and top officials from Boeing spent Tuesday in a safety discussion at FAA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“Boeing must commit to real and profound improvements,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said following the meeting with Boeing CEO and president Dave Calhoun and his senior safety team. “Making foundational change will require a sustained effort from Boeing’s leadership, and we are going to hold them accountable every step of the way, with mutually understood milestones and expectations.”  

This is not the first time the FAA has taken a hard look at Boeing. A series of deadly accidents involving Boeing Max aircraft grounded the entire fleet for more than a year. Then on January 5 a Boeing 737 Max 9 (Alaska Airlines Flight 1282) lost a door plug during climbout from Portland International Airport (KPDX) in Oregon. There were no serious injuries, and the aircraft was able to return to KPDX for landing.

Within hours, the FAA grounded 171 Boeing 737 Max 9s and is now investigating Boeing’s manufacturing practices and production lines, including those involving subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems, the Wichita, Kansas, manufacturer of the fuselages of the 737. The agency is also “bolstering its oversight of Boeing and examining potential system change.”

The preliminary investigation into the January 5 event by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed the bolts designed to hold the door plug in place were missing because they had not been reinstalled after maintenance.

On February 12, Whitaker came to Boeing’s factory in Renton, Washington, where the 737 that became Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 was assembled. The airliner was relatively new, having been in service since October.

Whitaker visited the 737 production line and spoke directly with Boeing engineers, mechanics, and others about quality-control processes. The FAA noted the administrator also went to the Alaska Airlines headquarters to discuss the blowout.

“Boeing must take a fresh look at every aspect of their quality-control process and ensure that safety is the company’s guiding principle,” said Whitaker of the Arlington, Virginia-headquartered aerospace giant. 

Whitaker told Boeing company officials that he expects the aircraft manufacturer to have a comprehensive action plan available within 90 days and that it will incorporate the “forthcoming results of the FAA production line audit and the latest findings from an expert review panel report, which was required by the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act of 2020.”

The report, released earlier this week, was critical of Boeing’s safety culture and noted that there needs to be an improvement in communication and that employees are afraid to speak up about safety concerns for fear of retaliation.

• READ MORE: FAA Critical of Boeing Safety Culture

“The plan must also include steps Boeing will take to mature its safety management system (SMS) program, which it committed to in 2019,” the FAA said in a statement. “Boeing also must integrate its SMS program with a quality management system, which will ensure the same level of rigor and oversight is applied to the company’s suppliers and create a measurable, systemic shift in manufacturing quality control.”

In addition, the FAA declined Boeing’s request to increase production of the 737 Max 9 and is “exploring the use of a third party to oversee Boeing and will wrap up its enhanced oversight audit of Boeing’s production and manufacturing quality systems in the coming weeks.” 

The agency said an investigation into Boeing’s alleged noncompliance is also underway.   

When FLYING reached out to Boeing for a response, a company spokesperson replied with the following statement: “By virtue of our quality stand-downs, the FAA audit findings and the recent expert review panel report, we have a clear picture of what needs to be done. Transparency prevailed in all of these discussions. Boeing will develop the comprehensive action plan with measurable criteria that demonstrates the profound change that administrator Whitaker and the FAA demand. Our Boeing leadership team is totally committed to meeting this challenge.”

The post FAA Gives Boeing 90 Days to Improve appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

“I think we’re also going to look at a culture survey that’s due at the end of the month and make a determination of how many folks we need on the ground in both places,” Whitaker told lawmakers on Tuesday during testimony before the House Transportation & Infrastructures’ aviation subcommittee.

“We haven’t made that determination, but I do anticipate we’ll want to keep people on the ground there. We don’t know how many yet, but we do think that presence will be warranted.”

Whitaker said the agency has 20 inspectors at Boeing facilities and “half a dozen” at Spirit.

The increased presence at Boeing, Whitaker said, “is to allow us to have direct conversations with employees about pressures they might be feeling or instructions they might be getting, and what incentives they’re dealing with.”

He also said Boeing has been informed that the FAA will not grant production expansion of 737 Max units “until we’re satisfied that quality control issues uncovered during this process are resolved.”

The FAA’s ramped-up oversight of Boeing and Spirit, a key Boeing supplier, was initiated in the aftermath of the January 5 incident in which a mid-cabin door plug blew out of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. The 737-9 Max had been en route from Portland International Airport (KPDX) in Oregon, to Ontario, California (KONT). Only minor injuries were sustained as a result of the accident.

• READ MORE: Additional Passengers Sue Alaska Airlines, Boeing

Asked about the most recent 737 Max setback involving incorrectly improperly drilled holes in fuselages built at Spirit’s Wichita, Kansas, facility and shipped to Boeing’s Renton, Washington, plant for final assembly by Boeing, Whitaker told lawmakers that the FAA is working with Boeing to understand what happened.

“These are small rivets that hold a window in place,” he said. “We know it’s not [built] to compliance, but we want to understand why it has not been manufactured per design. Then we’ll see what corrective actions need to be taken to repair the windows and when that has to happen.”

Whitaker Pushed on Mandatory Pilot Retirement

While not a member of the aviation subcommittee, U.S. Representative Troy Nehls (R-Texas) was provided wide discretion by committee leadership to grill Whitaker on his agency’s alleged opposition to legislation raising the mandatory retirement age for commercial pilots from 65 to 67.

Nehls read from a letter the FAA sent Monday to the Senate Commerce Committee that Nehls interpreted as opposing implementing the legislation—if Congress were to pass it—without conducting studies beforehand.

“Our official position is that we don’t have a position on the retirement age, but if it changes, we’d like to have data to support the change,” Whitaker said.

• READ MORE: House Committee Votes to Push Back Pilot Retirement Age 2 Years

But Nehls pointed out that pilots for Part 135 operators are already flying past age 65.

In addition, he said, other countries, including Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada, all allow pilots to fly past the age of 65 with no evidence of safety issues. “Why don’t you just call them and ask them [about their safety records],” Nehls said.

“My intent [in sending the letter to the Senate] was to oppose the legislation but to identify issues around international compliance and data on what it means to raise the age,” Whitaker said.

The Senate is expected this week to take up the provision to raise the retirement age as part of a markup of the 2023 FAA reauthorization, which the chamber failed to pass by the September deadline. The House passed its version of the 2023 reauthorization in July.

The post FAA Anticipates Permanent Inspector Deployment at Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The 19-page report, released Tuesday by the NTSB, noted the four bolts that are supposed to hold the door plug in place were removed for maintenance at the factory before delivery of the jet but never reinstalled. The aircraft had flown 510 hours without having the door plug properly secured.

• READ MORE: NTSB Reports No Bolts in Blown Out 737 Max Door

The Details

On January 5 shortly after takeoff from Portland International Airport (KPDX) in Oregon, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 lost the mid-exit door (MED) plug as the aircraft climbed through 16,000 feet. The loss of the door plug resulted in violent decompression, but no serious injuries to the 177 persons on board. The flight crew declared an emergency and returned to Portland with a refrigerator-sized hole in the side of the aircraft.

“An event like this must not happen on an airplane that leaves our factory,” Calhoun said. “We simply must do better for our customers and their passengers. We are implementing a comprehensive plan to strengthen quality and the confidence of our stakeholders. It will take significant, demonstrated action and transparency at every turn—and that is where we are squarely focused.”

In a statement to the media, Boeing outlined immediate action items it is undertaking to strengthen quality.

“First and foremost, the company has implemented a control plan to ensure all 737-9 mid-exit door plugs are installed according to specifications by instituting new inspections of the door plug assembly and similar structures at our supplier’s factory and on Boeing’s production line, and adding signage and protocol to fully document when the door plug is opened or removed in our factory, ensuring it is reinstalled and inspected prior to delivery,” the statement said.

“Boeing is also taking steps to improve overall quality and stability across the 737 production system. These steps include layering additional inspections into the Boeing supply chain,  more communication and collaboration with suppliers on production enhancements, performing more work on the aircraft at their assigned positions, setting aside multiple days for 737 teams to focus on implement quality improvements, adding independent assessment to bolster the quality management system at Boeing Commercial Airplanes by a highly experienced safety expert.

“In addition to these Boeing actions, we are opening our factory to 737 customers to conduct their own additional reviews and will fully and transparently support the FAA’s investigation, audit, and oversight actions.”

Said Calhoun: “This added scrutiny—from ourselves, from our regulator, and from our customers—will make us better. It’s that simple.”  

The NTSB is continuing its investigation.

The post Boeing Responds to Missing Bolts appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

According to a statement from the FAA, the agency has “approved a thorough inspection and maintenance process that must be performed” on all 171 grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft. The statement notes that “upon successful completion, the aircraft will be eligible to return to service.”

Within hours of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 losing a door plug shortly after an early evening takeoff from Portland International Airport (KPDX) in Oregon, the airline grounded its 737 Max 9 fleet as a precaution. The model makes up approximately 20 percent of Alaska’s fleet.

FAA Administer Mike Whitaker noted that the agency grounded the 737 Max 9 on a national scale within hours of the event and “made clear this aircraft would not go back into service until it was safe.”

Whitaker continued: “The exhaustive, enhanced review our team completed after several weeks of information gathering gives me and the FAA confidence to proceed to the inspection and maintenance phase. However, let me be clear: This won’t be back to business as usual for Boeing. We will not agree to any request from Boeing for an expansion in production or approve additional production lines for the 737 Max until we are satisfied that the quality control issues uncovered during this process are resolved.”

In addition, the FAA has “ramped up oversight of Boeing and its suppliers”.

New Instructions from the FAA

Per the statement from the FAA, the agency reviewed data compiled from 40 inspections of grounded aircraft and used it to create a detailed set of inspection and maintenance instructions. It also convened a Corrective Action Review Board (CARB) “made up of safety experts [that] scrutinized and approved the inspection and maintenance process.”

The agency stressed that “following the completion of the enhanced maintenance and inspection process on each aircraft, the door plugs on the 737 Max 9 will be in compliance with the original design which is safe to operate….This aircraft will not operate until the process is complete and compliance with the original design is confirmed.”

Per the FAA, the enhanced maintenance process requires:

• Inspection of specific bolts, guide tracks and fittings
• Detailed visual inspections of left and right mid-cabin exit door plugs and dozens of associated components
• Retorquing fasteners
• Correcting any damage or abnormal conditions

FAA Holding Boeing Accountable

The FAA is also increasing oversight of Boeing’s production lines.

“The quality assurance issues we have seen are unacceptable,” Whitaker said. “That is why we will have more boots on the ground closely scrutinizing and monitoring production and manufacturing activities.” 

Increased oversight activities include: 

• Capping expanded production of new Boeing 737 Max aircraft to ensure accountability and full compliance with required quality control procedures
• Launching an investigation scrutinizing Boeing’s compliance with manufacturing requirements. The FAA will use the full extent of its enforcement authority to ensure the company is held accountable for any non-compliance.
• Aggressively expanding oversight of new aircraft with increased floor presence at all Boeing facilities
• Closely monitoring data to identify risk
• Launching an analysis of potential safety-focused reforms around quality control and delegation

The agency will continue to work closely with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as it continues the investigation into Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. One of the key questions to be answered is if the bolts that are designed to hold the door plug in place were installed correctly, if at all, at the time of the accident.

• READ MORE: NTSB Identifies Part That Failed on 737 Max 9

FAA Waiting for Boeing Safety Review

In early 2023, the agency convened 24 experts to review Boeing’s safety management processes with an eye toward how they affect the aircraft manufacturing giant’s safety culture.

Per the FAA statement, “the review panel included representatives from NASA, the FAA, labor unions, independent engineering experts, air carriers, manufacturers with delegated authority, legal experts and others.”

The panel reviewed thousands of documents and interviewed more than 250 Boeing employees, managers, and executives, Boeing supplier employees, and FAA employees, and visited several Boeing sites as well as Spirit AeroSystems’ facility in Wichita, Kansas.

The report is expected to be released in a few weeks. The FAA will be using the information to determine if additional action is required.

In response to the FAA, Boeing released a statement: “We will continue to cooperate fully and transparently with the FAA and follow their direction as we take action to strengthen safety and quality at Boeing. We will also work closely with our airline customers as they complete the required inspection procedures to safely return their 737-9 airplanes to service.”

• READ MORE: Boeing to Shut Down Facility for a Day

In addition, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) announced she will conduct congressional hearings to investigate the alleged “safety lapses” that may have led to the loss of the door plug from the ill-fated flight.

“[The public and workers deserve] a culture of leadership at Boeing that puts safety ahead of profits,” Cantwell said.

Airlines Reply

According to aviation data provider Cirium.com, there are approximately 215 Max 9 aircraft in use around the world. Of those, 79 belong to United Airlines and 65 to Alaska Airlines. Both airlines experienced flight cancellations and delays following the FAA’s grounding of the jets.

During the grounding the airlines complied with an FAA mandate to inspect their fleets of Max 9s, and the data collected from these inspections has been evaluated by the agency and used to develop its orders for final inspection of the aircraft, which is required to return them to airworthy status.

• READ MORE: United Airlines Says It’s Disappointed in Boeing

In a statement, Alaska Airlines noted “each of our aircraft will only return to service once the rigorous inspections are completed and each aircraft is deemed airworthy, according to the FAA requirements. We have 65 737-9 Max in our fleet. The inspections are expected to take up to 12 hours for each plane.”

Alaska Airlines predicts the first of the Max 9s will resume flying on Friday, “with more planes added every day as inspections are completed and each aircraft is deemed airworthy.”

Toby Enqvist, United’s executive vice president and chief operations officer, said the airline began inspection of its Max 9 fleet on January 12. In a message to United employees, Enqvist outlined the process, which includes removing the inner panel, two rows of seats, and the sidewall liner, enabling workers to access the doors and “inspect and verify the proper installation of the door and frame hardware, as well as the area around the door and seal.”

The post FAA Cracks Down on Boeing appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

In an internal communication sent to employees of Boeing’s Commercial Airplanes division, division CEO Stan Deal said this was the first of many quality stand-down days for the factories involved in the 737 program.

“Production, delivery, and support efforts will pause for a day, so teammates can take part in working sessions focused on quality,” Deal said. “The sessions allow all teammates who touch the airplane to ‘pause, evaluate what we’re doing, how we’re doing it, and make recommendations for improvement.’

“During the stand-downs, teammates will participate in hands-on learning, reflection, and collaboration to identify where quality and compliance can be improved and create actionable plans that will be tracked to closure.”

Quality Stand-Downs will be held over the next several weeks at other Boeing factories and fabrication sites to include all airplane programs.

According to the Seattle Times, a whistleblower at the Renton plant allegedly has paperwork that claims the door plug was removed for repair from the fuselage of the Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 that lost the plug in flight, then reinstalled without the required four bolts that hold the door in place. If the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation confirms this, the blame for the event would fall on Boeing, rather than Spirit AeroSystems, the makers of the 737 fuselages.

• READ MORE: Alaska Airlines Grounds 737 Max Fleet Following Explosive Decompression

The aircraft was delivered to Alaska Airlines in October 2023. It did not have enough time in the air for it to be subject to a so-called “heavy maintenance” cycle.

The door plug was found in the backyard of a Portland, Oregon, area schoolteacher. It has been sent to the NTSB laboratory in Washington, D.C., for analysis. Investigators are trying to determine if the four bolts that are supposed to hold the door plug in place were installed correctly.

In the meantime, the entire fleet of Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft remains grounded and subject to extra inspections. The Max 9 is primarily used by United Airlines and Alaska Airlines. Both carriers are having to cancel flights and adjust schedules to make up for the loss of aircraft while they continue to closely inspect their fleets.

According to Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci, a close inspection of the 737 Max 9—which makes up 20 percent of the company’s fleet—uncovered loose bolts in many of the airplanes.

“I am more than frustrated and disappointed,” Minicucci told NBC News. “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?”

• READ MORE: NTSB Identifies Part That Failed on 737 Max 9

Boeing and Alaska are facing lawsuits from passengers who were on board Flight 1282 on January 5. As the aircraft with the gaping hole in its side descended into Portland, several thought they were going to die and sent farewell messages to their loved ones via text.

Among the concerns were that the airliner had three maintenance write-ups regarding the pressurization system, but the aircraft was permitted to remain in service as long as it did not fly over water.

What Is a Door Plug?

The door plug covers a space that can be turned into an emergency exit if the operator of the aircraft desires. The outline of the door plug can be seen from the exterior of the airplane. Inside, if the emergency exit option is not selected, the space looks like a bulkhead in the fuselage with windows.

The fuselages for the 737 are made by Spirit AeroSystems, which is also investigating its quality-control measures. In December, two former employees at the Wichita, Kansas, facility filed a class-action suit alleging that a lack of quality control was endangering the company.

FLYING will continue to follow this story and post updates as they are available.

The post Boeing to Shut Down Facility for a Day appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

There were 177 on board when the aircraft lost a door plug while climbing through 16,000 feet and experienced explosive decompression, resulting in a door-sized hole on the left side of the fuselage. The accident happened 13 minutes after takeoff from Portland International Airport (KPDX) in Oregon. The aircraft was bound for Ontario, California.

The four passengers are represented by Mark Lindquist, a Seattle-area personal injury attorney who also represented the families of dozens of victims after the 2018 and 2019 fatal crashes involving the Boeing 737 Max 8.

The airliner that became Flight 1282 was delivered to Alaska Airlines in October 2023. Prior to the Flight 1282 blowout, three different flight crews noticed issues with the aircraft pressurization system and wrote it up after receiving warning lights. The system has a triple redundancy. The first and second systems are activated by computer. The third system requires manual activation. The FAA allows the aircraft to fly with warnings from the system because of the triple redundancy.

• READ MORE: Passengers Sue Boeing

In response to the maintenance write-ups, Alaska Airlines pulled the aircraft from overwater operations but allowed it to fly over land.

According to Lindquist, Alaska Airlines is also named as a defendant.

“Alaska Airlines management decided the subject plane was not safe to fly over the ocean but was somehow safe enough to fly over land,” Lindquist said. “[This] risky decision [endangered passengers]. There’s no reasonable way for an airline executive to explain to the jury how they thought the plane was not safe to fly over the ocean but was safe to fly over land.” 

At the time of the blowout, the airplane was still climbing, and all the passengers were still wearing their seat belts. The flight back to KPDX was terrifying, Lindquist alleged, as the “passengers did not know if the plane could continue to fly while depressurized with a gaping hole in the fuselage.”

The seats directly next to the door plug were unoccupied, although a 15-year-old boy sitting close to it had his shirt torn from his body by the force of the decompression, and loose objects in the cabin, such as cellphones and stuffed animals, were sucked out into the night sky.

The airplane returned safely to Portland, where some passengers were treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Alaska Airlines swiftly grounded its fleet of 737 Max 9s, and within hours the FAA made the grounding a countrywide event.

• READ MORE: Alaska Airlines Grounds 737 Max Fleet Following Explosive Decompression

“It took the FAA three months and a second crash to ground the Max 8,” Lindquist said, “so it’s good to see this quick action. Lessons were learned by the FAA, if not Boeing.” 

According to information Lindquist sent to FLYING, the passengers aboard Flight 1282 described hearing “a loud bang and blare as a door plug blew out of the fuselage and the plane rapidly depressurized. This shocking blowout caused intense fear, distress, anxiety, trauma, physical pain, and other injuries to plaintiffs and fellow passengers.”

Lindquist added that Boeing “has long been on notice of quality control issues” and faced allegations the company “puts profits ahead of safety.”

The lawsuit alleges that “Boeing delivered a plane with a faulty door plug that blew out of the fuselage at 16,000 feet and air masks that apparently did not function properly. Plaintiffs feared the gaping hole in the fuselage, rapid depressurization, and general havoc was a prelude to the plane’s destruction and their own likely death.” 

According to Lindquist, “Some passengers were sending what they thought would be their final text messages in this world.”

One plaintiff wrote, “Mom our plane depressed. We’re in masks. I love you.”

The lawsuit charges three counts: one count of negligence against Boeing, one count of strict product liability against Boeing under Washington state’s Product Liability Act of 1981, and one count of negligence against Alaska Airlines.

A few days after the Max 9 incident, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun referred to the blowout as a “quality escape,” which Lindquist cited in the lawsuit. Calhoun explained “quality escape” was “anything that could potentially lead to an accident.” The lawsuit alleges the CEO thus admitted “a mistake” by Boeing.

In the Max 8 disasters, Boeing initially denied responsibility. “It’s encouraging to see the CEO step up this time and recognize the importance of accountability,” Lindquist said.

• READ MORE: FAA Scolds Boeing Over Door Plug Decompression Incident

The Investigation

The door plug was recovered in the backyard of a Portland high school teacher. The door has been shipped to the NTSB lab in Washington, D.C., for study. Investigators want to know if the four bolts designed to hold the door in place failed, or if they were mistakenly left out of the aircraft at assembly.

“Though it’s too soon to know for sure what exactly went wrong, we do know Boeing is ultimately responsible for the safety of their planes, and Alaska Airlines is ultimately responsible for the safety of their passengers,” Lindquist said.

After the aircraft returned to Portland, passengers were offered other flights to get to their destination of Ontario, California. In addition, the airline sent an email to each passenger offering them $1,500 each. According to Lindquist, many passengers were offended by both the amount and lack of a personal touch.

“While all the passengers have some things in common, their injuries are different based on where they were seated, their individual reactions, and how they are faring,” Lindquist said. “Each passenger is an individual with individual interests.”

FLYING reached out to both Alaska Airlines and Boeing for comment. Boeing replied that it had nothing to add, and Alaska Airlines stated that it does not comment on pending litigation.

On Wednesday morning, Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci sent an explanatory email to its customers to update them on the situation.

Minicucci apologized to the passengers of Flight 1282 and also to customers whose travel plans have been upset by the grounding of the Max 9. The model makes up 20 percent of Alaska Airlines’ fleet.

“Since Alaska Airlines and the FAA have grounded these aircraft, that means we are canceling between 110 to 150 flights every day,” said Minicucci, adding that because of the cancellations he has asked the reservations team to notify customers as soon as possible.

“Our reservations team is working around the clock to accommodate people on other flights. To all who’ve been impacted by these interruptions, I am sorry. When you make plans, you put your trust in us, and we haven’t been able to deliver over the past week.”

About the Inspections

According to Minicucci, the inspections of the aircraft began on Saturday, January 13, and are a joint effort by the airline, FAA, and Boeing. The information gathered will be compiled by Boeing and the FAA to determine the appropriate next steps in order to return the Max 9 fleet safely back to service. 

“At this time we do not yet know how long this process will take, but we will keep you updated as much as we can,” Minicucci said. “Aviation safety is based on having multiple levels of quality control and safety assurance, much like system redundancies that are built into an aircraft for operational safety together.”

• READ MORE: Boeing Bolstering Its Quality Inspections

In addition, Alaska Airlines is having its quality and audit team begin a thorough review of production, quality, and control systems, including vendor oversight.

“They will partner with our maintenance team on the design of enhanced processes for our own quality control over aircraft and Boeing,” Minicucci said. “And starting this week, we will have our own quality oversight of Alaska aircraft on the Boeing production line, adding more experienced professionals to the teams that validate work and quality on the production line for the 737.”

The post Additional Passengers Sue Alaska Airlines, Boeing appeared first on FLYING Magazine.