Summary
- The Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 had pressurization warnings on three previous occasions before the incident.
- The cockpit door opened through the decompression event, causing communication issues among the many flight crew and the flight attendants.
- The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) adopted the US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) emergency directive to ground all affected 737 MAX 9s in Europe. Nonetheless, none share the identical configuration because the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9.
Greater than 48 hours after the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9, registered as N704AL, suffered a plug door blowout during flight AS 1282, several aviation authorities and airlines have provided updates on the situation. Boeing has also issued multiple statements, with the manufacturer’s 737 MAX aircraft family being within the highlight again.
Previous pressurization issues
Jennifer Homendy, america (US) National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chair, clarified that the difficulty with the Alaska Airlines flight was a plug adding that it may well even be called a door plug during a media briefing on January 7, 2023.
In line with the chair, the NTSB’s structures team documented the damage to the airframe, checked out the deformation and witness marks on the left-hand plug, and identified components they desired to send to the board’s lab. she added, noting that the investigators may also have a look at the right-hand plug door, which didn’t suffer a blowout through the incident.
Photo: NTSB
The chair also highlighted that NTSB inquired Alaska Airlines about three previous instances when the auto pressurization fail light got here on within the cockpit, saying that these flights happened on December 7, 2023, followed by cases on January 3 and January 4, 2024. Homendy stated that the pilots flipped the switch to ‘ALTN’, which is a backup system. The airline’s maintenance tested the system and reset it in any case three events, with Homendy noting that the NTSB didn’t know whether there was any correlation between the sunshine warnings and the door blowout on the time.
At the identical time, Alaska Airlines removed the aircraft from its prolonged range twin operations approval (ETOPS) fleet, meaning that the airline barred this 737 MAX 9 Nonetheless, Homendy noted that the carrier wanted maintenance to take a look at the auto pressurization fail light moreover, yet that was not done before the incident occurred. she added.
Alaska Airlines’ Boeing 737 MAX Involved In The Incident Wasn’t Allowed Long Overwater Flights
Flights on the actual MAX 9 had pressurization warnings on three different occasions prior to the incident.
Pilot actions through the decompression event
Homendy also said that the cockpit door opened through the explosive decompression event, with the chair stating that the door to the flight deck and the cockpit door hit the rest room door. A flight attendant was eventually capable of close the cockpit door. In consequence, the fast reference checklist, which is different from the fast reference handbook (QRH), flew out of the cockpit after the explosive decompression event. Moreover, a flight attendant told the NTSB that and that the pilot lost a portion of the headset. Each pilots and flight attendants said through the flight.
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In a transient follow-up update on the identical day, Homendy announced that the NTSB had found the door plug, saying that a Portland resident had come across the part. He contacted the investigators, providing them with two pictures of the door plug after he had found it in his backyard. Nonetheless, Homendy was unable to reply whether the door was intact for the reason that NTSB’s investigators had not seen the part yet.
Photo: NTSB
EASA adopts FAA’s emergency directive
On January 7, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) adopted the US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD), grounding all affected 737 MAX 9s in Europe along with the already-grounded aircraft within the US. the European regulator said, detailing that the EAD covers a particular setup when a plug replaces the mid-cabin exit.
This configuration is often adopted by airlines flying lower-density operations (with lower passenger capability) where this extra exit shouldn’t be required to fulfill evacuation safety requirements,” EASA continued.
The FAA issued its EAD on January 6, requiring operators to ground 737 MAX 9 aircraft until they’re inspected, with Mike Whitaker, the agency’s Administrator, saying,
FAA Orders Immediate Inspections Of Certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 Aircraft
Alaska Airlines and United Airlines are the most important operators of the -9 variant.
In consequence of the grounding order, Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, the one two US-based airlines operating the 737 MAX 9, have canceled at the least 230 and 270 flights over the past few days, respectively. In a press release, United Airlines said that the subsequent step for the airline can be to perform the FAA’s EAD afterBoeing issues its multi-operator message, with the FAA using the message to
Notably, a day after the incident, Alaska Airlines had already returned some Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft to service. On the time, the carrier said that 18 aircraft were back flying commercially after in-depth inspections. The airline pulled them from service
Photo: Kevin Hackert | Shutterstock
Boeing’s safety meeting
In line with Dominic Gates, David Calhoun, the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Boeing, emailed the manufacturer’s staff, inviting them to a company-wide webcast focused on safety. The meeting is scheduled for January 9, with several executive team members joining Calhoun.
In an initial statement, Boeing said that it was aware of the Alaska Airlines incident on January 5. The manufacturer issued a subsequent statement the next day, stating that safety is its top priority and that it agrees and fully supports
Photo: NTSB
The Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 was operating the domestic flight AS 1282 between Portland International Airport (PDX) and Ontario International Airport (ONT) on January 5 when the aircraft suffered a plug door blowout while climbing. The 737 MAX 9’s maximum altitude was 16,300 feet (4,968 meters). The aircraft safely returned to PDX. Alaska Airlines said that some passengers
Alaska Airlines Grounds Entire Boeing 737 MAX 9 Fleet After Blowout Incident
The precautionary measure will allow the airline to examine its fleet.