An advisory light came on 3 times before the door plug flew off the plane
What Happened When the Door Plug Fleered Off and Its Frame Was Holed in It: A Boeing Technical Team Investigating the Incident
After a door plug flew off and the plane had a large hole in it, the attendants and the flight crew described the atmosphere on the plane as chaotic, loud and violent. The flight carrying 171 passengers and six crew safely returned back in Portland, Ore. There were no injuries.
John Cox, who was a pilot and safety consultant, said we’re very lucky they found the plug.
NTSB teams spent Sunday documenting damage to the frame. They have looked for paint transfers and are sending some components, such as the stop fittings, to a laboratory to be examined, where the NTSB will search for things like fractures and shears under a microscope. The corresponding door plug on the right side of the plane will also be inspected. The FAA ordered all the models of Boeing’s Max 9 planes to be inspected immediately. Alaska Airlines has stopped selling its models of that plane. “Safety is our top priority and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers,” Boeing said Saturday. We agree with the decision of the FAA to require immediate inspections of the same plane as the one that had an issue. In addition, a Boeing technical team is supporting the NTSB’s investigation into the Jan. 5 accident. We will remain in close contact with our regulator and customers. Ben Minicucci, CEO of Alaska Airlines, apologized for what the passengers on the flight experienced. “We are working with Boeing and regulators to understand what occurred tonight, and will share updates as more information is available.”
A door plug is attached to a doorway and held together with 12 stop fittings, which stop the door plug from getting out. The plug was not used for a door in this case, according to Homendy.
Airplanes with Door Plugs and Door Interferometry: What Happened to the Boeing 747 Max 8 Aircraft Theorem?
Boeing has been using the design for more than a decade without any major incidents, said Cox, who is now a consultant with the company Safety Operating Systems.
The FAA ordered the grounding of 737 Max 9 planes in certain configurations that have the door plug. A few planes that have door plugs are still flying, including the737 Max 8 plane as well as other planes with the door plug.
“We don’t know that there was any correlation of the two,” Homendy said. “It could be entirely separate.” Alaska Airlines restricted the plane from being flown over water in Hawaii so it could easily be found at an airport. The airline requested that maintenance crews examine the light. However, they had not been fulfilled before the plug came off.
The ‘Door Plug’ that Blown off a Boeing 737 Max, Portland, Ntsb-Faa
“We know what happened. Cox said that they don’t know why. “And then the follow up question, of course, is what do we need to do to prevent it from happening again?”
“Are the four bolts there? Are the nuts there? Did the bolts or holes suffer from either strain or bending? Cox said. “All of those things they’re going to look at to try to understand the forces that resulted in this plug leaving the airplane.”
“We have a lot of ability in our lab with our microscopes to really look at some of the components more in depth,” Homendy said on Sunday night, “to look at witness marks, to look at any paint transfer, what shape the door was in when found. It can tell them a lot about what happened.
The company said it is thankful that the Alaska Airlines crew performed the appropriate procedures to land the plane.
Source: Investigators found the ‘door plug’ that blew off a Boeing 737 Max. Here’s what it is
FAA Order No. 374 for the Flight of the Decay of a Boeing MAX 8-Jet in the Interior of an Accurately-Focused Boeing Semi-Aeroplane
Quality and product integrity of the aircraft structures that we deliver are the primary focus of our business. Spirit is a committed partner with Boeing on the 737 program, and we continue to work together with them on this matter,” the statement said.
About 170 Boeing Max 9 planes that were grounded after the incident on Friday night can be inspected, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The FAA priorities are always keeping Americans safe, it said in a statement. “Boeing 737-9 aircraft will remain grounded until operators complete enhanced inspections which include both left and right cabin door exit plugs, door components, and fasteners.”
Operators must follow through with any corrective actions, based on the findings from the inspections. The FAA has said that it takes up to eight hours to inspect an aircraft.
Boeing’s president and chief executive officer Stan Deal and safety officer Mike Delaney said in an email to their employees that they agree with the FAA’s decision to require immediate inspections of the company’s MAX airplanes.
Cox said it looks like it’s a one-off. It’s just something that happened to the plane. But the ongoing problems with the Max series are yet another blow to Boeing’s reputation, he said. An operator around the world will look at this and say, “Are we buying a problem if we buy the Max?”
The Door Plug in a Portland Elementary School’s Flight: A Vehicle with a Non-Relativistic Auto Pressurization Fail Light Comes On
Homendy said the door plug was found in the backyard of a Portland teacher. She said one cell phone was found on the side of the road and another in a yard.
On three flights prior to Friday’s, the plane’s auto pressurization fail light came on, Homendy said. The flights took place in December and January of last year. The light coming on is “very benign,” Homendy said, and it was tested by maintenance crews and reset.
The crew immediately put on their oxygen masks. A quick reference checklist flew out of the cockpit door, which had jammed the bathroom door and was empty. The first officer’s headset came off when she got the quick reference handbook from the captain. The crew put their oxygen masks on and turned on the speakers to alert those in the cabin.
“Communication was a serious issue,” Homendy said. “Flight attendants said it was hard to get information from the flight deck, and the flight deck was also having difficulty communicating.” Two of the flight attendants who were at the front of the plane have been interviewed and two of the flight attendants that were at the back of the plane have been interviewed. A plane has 178 people on it. The 171 people on board included four unaccompanied minors and three babies, who were in the laps of caregivers, Homendy said.
Homendy was happy for the flight crew and attendants. The flight attendants were very focused on what happened with the children after the event. Is they safe? Were they secure? Did they have their lap belts on, and did they have their masks on? And they did. “Homendy said that the Federal Aviation Administration and Alaska Airlines encourage caregivers to strap infants under 2 years old into car seats because of the risk of serious head injuries in accidents.”
The plug was positioned in row 26, on the left side of the plane. There was no one seated in the two seats next to the door. The tray table on the back of 26A is missing and the headrests on those seats are gone. The seats have been sent for an inspection. The area had damage to it’s panelling and trim. The seal to the window was undamaged, Homendy said. “Those are all not critical to the structure of the aircraft, so I just want to emphasize that,” she said. The NTSB is investigating the functionality of an oxygen mask that was still in its ceiling panel. Homendy said it either did not deploy or someone must have put it back up after the incident. There was additional damage in rows 1 through 4, 11 and 12, 25 through 27 and 31 through 33. There was no damage to the exterior of the plane, Homendy said.
