Staff Reports
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a report on Tuesday revealing that four bolts securing a door plug on the Boeing 737 Max 9 were removed and not replaced before the plane was delivered to Alaska Airlines. This potentially catastrophic oversight came to light after a door panel on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 blew out shortly after departing from Portland International Airport in Oregon on Jan. 5. The incident caused all Max 9 jets to be grounded immediately.
Boeing's disastrous Alaska Airlines plane door plug was missing bolts before takeoff: Report https://t.co/VpTwK6TNP9 https://t.co/VpTwK6TNP9
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) February 7, 2024
The 19-page report detailed how the panel, which fell 16,000 feet, had not been properly secured with all four bolts before takeoff. The investigators found that when the panel was removed for repairs, not all the bolts were put back in place. The report included a photograph showing the reinstalled door plug with no bolts, confirming that the bolts were indeed missing.
The NTSB’s findings have sparked public concern over Boeing’s manufacturing mistakes and safety standards. The report follows Boeing’s announcement that 50 undelivered Max 9 jets would need repairs at the Renton factory in Washington after misdrilled holes were found in the jets’ fuselages. This pattern of negligence is deeply concerning and raises serious doubts about the quality control and attention to detail at Boeing.
While the report does not provide a final probable cause for the missing bolts, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Mike Whitaker has promised increased scrutiny over production and manufacturing activities moving forward. This is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done to ensure that such dangerous oversights do not continue to endanger the lives of airline passengers.
The safety and security of air travel should be of utmost importance, and any lapses in safety protocols and manufacturing standards must be addressed promptly and effectively. The American people deserve to have confidence in the aircraft they fly in, and it’s imperative that steps are taken to prevent such oversights from occurring in the future.
