by Most of us do not check what type of aircraft we will be flying on when we book an air ticket. But many of us will now do so after the latest horrific incident involving the Boeing 737 Max jet.
The left rear “door plug” of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 en route from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, blew at 16,000 feet last week while the jet was halfway through its climb to altitude cruise. A door plug is a panel, with a window, that fills an unused emergency exit.
The sudden decompression of the cabin forced the cockpit door open and ripped off the co-pilot’s headset. It also dragged seat headrests, smartphones and even some passenger clothes into the icy void.
Despite the wind, cold and deafening noise, which made it difficult for the pilots to contact air traffic control, the jet returned safely to Portland. None of the 171 passengers and six crew were killed or injured. The two seats next to the door jamb were empty.
Shortly after the blowout, emergency inspections revealed loose door plug bolts on other Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 planes. United Airlines found similar defects. Both airlines have established their fleets of Max 9s in accordance with guidance from the US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The Alaska Airlines crash occurred after the Boeing 737 Max 8 was grounded in 2019 for nearly two years following two fatal crashes. About 189 people died when a Lion Air 737 Max nose dived into the Java Sea after taking off from Jakarta. Five months later, 157 were killed when an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max crashed minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa.
In its bid to get the Max 8 into production – to challenge Airbus’ dominance of the short-haul jet market – Boeing had hidden design flaws in flight control software from pilots and controllers, investigations have revealed.
What does the latest scare mean for UK travellers?
The good news is, no airlines operating from the UK fly the 737 Max 9, which is a longer version of the Max 8. Ryanair operates Max 8s, but this model has flown without any serious incidents around the deep since it was reconfirmed in 2020 after a. hardware and software were changed. I traveled on the jet safely in the United States and Mexico.
There are only 215 Max 9s in service worldwide – out of 1,300 Max jets – and 179 of those have a plugged door, according to aviation data firm Cirium. Alaska Airlines operates 65 Max 9s with plugged doors, while United’s fleet includes 79 of the type. Turkish Airlines, Panama’s Copa Airlines and Aeromexico have a handful each.
The consequences for US passengers are serious. Hundreds of Alaska and United flights are being canceled.
For Boeing, the situation is dire. He hoped that the certification of the Max 8 would end his problems with his short-distance workhorse in all versions. Now billions of dollars – once again – have been wiped off the company’s value. Worse, ramping up production of each new aircraft will likely make it more difficult to compete with Airbus. US regulators will likely take more time to approve their new jets.
Even before the Alaska Airlines incident, Boeing was accused of poor manufacturing. Last month, the company warned about possible loose bolts in the rudder system of some of its Max jets. Production was halted last summer due to incorrectly drilled holes on fuselages.
The head of America’s National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Jennifer Homendy, revealed earlier this week that Alaska Airlines had previously restricted the aircraft involved in last week’s accident from flying over the ocean, after for the automatic pressure warning light to come on three times i. last month.
As it begins its investigation, the NTSB says it does not suspect a design flaw. The type of door plug that failed was used on an older Boeing 737 from 2006 and did not suffer any serious issues. Investigators will focus on whether the door itself could be faulty or whether bolts were in the right place. They will examine the plane itself, the missing door, which was found in a back garden in Oregon, the flight data recorder and maintenance records, as well as interviewing flight crew, maintenance staff and Boeing employees.
Lawmakers are also on the case. Republican Senator JD Vance asked the Senate Commerce Committee to hold a hearing to “assess incidents involving the 737 Max, Boeing’s engineering and safety standards, and the quality of oversight provided by the FAA and other relevant government agencies.” This is likely to further delay the certification and production of new Boeing jets.
Aircraft manufacturing delays are a problem for passengers and airlines. The longer airlines have to wait to increase the size of their fleet, the longer demand for air travel will likely exceed the number of passengers an airline can carry – which means only one thing: higher fares.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has warned that his airline’s fares will rise due to manufacturing problems plaguing Boeing. “There is a big capacity challenge… air fares, especially in the summer peak, will be higher because there will be less short-haul capacity across Europe,” he told the Financial Times earlier this week.
Henry Harteveldt, president of Atmosphere Research in San Francisco, says, “Once again, a dark cloud hangs over the 737 MAX.” It doesn’t look like it’s going away anytime soon – for airlines or passengers.
