Two US Airlines Report Loose Hardware in Multiple Boeing MAX 9 Planes

Facts

• Two US airlines reported finding deficiencies in multiple Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes on Monday, days after a door plug — a piece of a plane's fuselage that replaces what would be an emergency exit door — came loose and ended up in a teacher's back garden in Oregon.¹
• Of the 220 seats on Friday's Alaskan Airlines Flight 1282 from Portland to Southern California, just under 50 were empty — including seats 26A and 26B, which was where the door plug flew off shortly after take-off. According to reporting by CNN, citing passengers and a video, headrests were ripped off their seats and items were sucked out of the aircraft, including 'a boy’s shirt which was ripped clean off his body.'²
• While some passengers required medical attention for minor injuries, Alaska Airlines said there were no reports of serious injuries. However, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered safety inspections of all 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft operating across the globe on Saturday. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) also put together a specialist 'Go Team' to examine the Alaska Airlines plane.³
• According to an anonymous source, United Airlines has since found loose bolts and other items on as many as 10 planes. In a statement, United said that since inspections began on Saturday, 'installation issues' were found in several door plugs.⁴
• Alaska Airlines has also said it discovered 'loose hardware' on 'some aircraft' following inspections. It added that a formal probe is ongoing and that no aircraft will return to service until it has been inspected, with all documented findings 'fully addressed in a matter that satisfies our safety standards and FAA compliance.'⁵
• According to Reuters, while the Kansas-based Spirit AeroSystems is responsible for constructing the fuselages of the 737s, Boeing still plays a key role in the plug's installation process. On Monday, shares of Boeing fell by 8.03% and Alaska Airlines dropped 0.21%.³

Sources: ¹BBC News, ²CNN, ³FOX News, ⁴REUTERS and ⁵Alaska Airlines News.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by The Post Millennial. While thankfully only causing minor injuries, the potential risk involved in the incident that occurred on the Alaska Airlines flight should be discussed from a worst-case scenario perspective. Since the door plug blew out only minutes into the flight, everyone was still buckled; but if it had blown out at a cruising altitude of 30K feet, this could have been a fatal tragedy. An intensive investigation needs to take place.
• Narrative B, as provided by NBC 7 San Diego. While no one can doubt the horror of such an incident, particularly for those on board, the FAA and the airlines it oversees have taken every safety measure possible to investigate this matter and fix issues. When the 737 MAX 9 is back in the air, passengers should feel safe in knowing that their aircraft has been thoroughly inspected. For now, the only worry anyone should have is over potential flight delays.

Predictions