The Boeing Response to the Alaska Airlines Flight-related Two-Flight Scenario after the Faraday Assisting Aircraft Accident
The Boeing plane that was involved was a variant of the aircraft that caused two crashes in the span of six months, killing 346 people, as well as the model 8s, which led to over 400 being grounded for 18 months.
Keyes said once the FAA clears the planes to fly — “and assuming no other incidents” — the public’s memory will fade. Within six months, he predicted, few people will be paying attention to the aircraft type when booking a flight.
Kayak, owned by Booking, said that after the Alaska flight crashed, it saw a three-fold increase in the number of people trying to locate the type of plane they were looking for. The jump — from low numbers, a Kayak spokeswoman acknowledged — led the site to make its airplane-type filter easier to find.
He told the Boeing employees that they need to know that they are starting from a very anxious moment.
“Moments like this shake them to the bone, just like it shook me to the bone,” he said, adding that Boeing must reassure airlines that the planes are safe.
Boeing, which is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, didn’t allow reporters to attend the event, but it released a four-minute clip in which Calhoun stressed safety and said that Boeing’s airline customers are watching the company’s response to the current crisis.
The door plugs were installed by the Boeing supplier, but investigators have not said which company’s employees last worked on them.
Boeing developed repair and inspection guidelines for the FAA. The instructions were revised based on feedback received in response.
The order to revise the guidelines came after Alaska and United reported finding loose bolts and other problems in the panel doors of an unspecified number of other Max 9s that they had begun to inspect.
Initial findings suggest this year’s incident may have been caused by loose bolts and “quality control issues” with the part that came loose—a plug that had been attached to the plane to fill an unused door hole.
How to Make a Third Boeing 737 Max After A Door Plug Gets Blown off a Jet in Oregon on January 5, 2012
Alaska Airlines will axe about 150 flights a day when the Max 9 planes are not in use. By late afternoon, Alaska canceled about 125 flights, a fifth of its schedule.
“We hope this action provides guests with a little more certainty, and we are working around the clock to reaccommodate impacted guests on other flights,” the airline said on its website.
The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all Max 9s in the United States on Saturday, the day after a panel called a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines jet over Oregon, leaving a hole in the side of the plane. Extra doors that are used on Max 9s that have more seats than Alaska will be replaced with the plug.
Robert Mann Jr. wonders if the issues with the model 9 are related to the manufacturing or supplier of the plane. The bolt anomalies depicted in the photo are unacceptable according to him. “If I found that on my car, I’d be livid, and it would make me wonder: What else might be there that’s problematic?”
Jim Proulx, a Boeing spokesman, declined to comment when contacted by WIRED, citing an ongoing investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. Boeing apologized for the damage done to its customers and their passengers in a January 6 statement.
Subsequent reports show door plug problems on other model 9s. The picture was shared on social media and purportedly shows one of the United Airlines model 9 fleet with screws not fully installed on door plugs.
So what to make of a third Boeing 737 Max suffering a major issue in recent years? Flying at 16,000 feet shortly after taking off in Oregon on January 5, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 was still climbing when part of the plane’s body detached, leaving passengers looking out at clear air. The incident raises serious concerns about the viability of this type of plane and the industry’s method of assuring aircraft safety.
