PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Boeing plane that suffered an explosion while flying over Oregon was not used for flights to Hawaii after a warning light illuminated on three separate flights that could have indicated a pressure problem.
Alaska Airlines decided to exclude the plane from long flights over water so that the plane could “return to an airport very quickly” if the warning light came on again, Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said Sunday.
Homendy warned that the pressure indicator light may have nothing to do with Friday's incident, in which a plug covering an unused exit door was blown off the Boeing 737 Max 9 as it passed about three miles (4.8 kilometers). Oregon flew.
On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration approved guidelines for inspecting the door plugs of other Max 9 jets and repairing them if necessary. The move was intended to speed up the return to service of 171 aircraft that the FAA grounded on Saturday under an emergency order.
Alaska has 64 other Max 9s and United Airlines owns 79 of them. No other US airline operates this model of Boeing 737.
Shares of The Boeing Co. and Spirit AeroSystems, which builds the fuselage for Boeing's 737 Max, each fell 7% in midday trading Monday, the first day of trading since the incident. Alaska Airlines shares were nearly flat after slumping earlier in the session.
The ill-fated Alaska Airlines plane's automatic pressure system warning illuminated on three previous flights. Homendy said she did not have details about a Dec. 7 incident, but that it occurred during a flight on Jan. 3 and again after the plane landed on Jan. 4 – the day before the explosion.
“We want to take a closer look and have requested documentation of all defects since the aircraft was delivered on October 31,” she said.
The NTSB said the lost door stopper was found in the backyard of a home on Sunday near Portland, Oregon. Investigators will examine the plug, which measures 26 by 48 inches (66 by 121 centimeters) and weighs 63 pounds (28.5 kilograms), for signs of how it came loose.
Investigators will not have the benefit of hearing what happened in the cockpit during the flight. The cockpit voice recorder – one of two so-called black boxes – recorded the sounds of the flight after two hours, Homendy said.
At a press conference on Sunday evening, Homendy revealed new details about the chaotic scene that unfolded on the plane. The explosive blast of air damaged several rows of seats and detached insulation from the walls. The cockpit door flew open and hit the toilet door.
In this photo released by the National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB lead investigator John Lovell examines the fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024, in Portland, Oregon. (National Transportation Safety Board via AP)
The force ripped the co-pilot's headset off and the captain lost part of her headset. A quick-reference checklist, kept handy for pilots, flew out of the open cockpit, Homendy said.
Two mobile phones were found on the ground, apparently belonging to passengers on Friday's horrific flight. One was discovered in a yard, the other on the side of the road. Both were turned over to the NTSB.
However, the plane made it back to Portland and none of the 171 passengers and six crew were seriously injured.
Hours after the incident, the FAA grounded 171 of the 218 Max 9s in operation, including all planes operated by Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, until they can be inspected. This led to flight cancellations for both airlines.
Early Monday, Alaska Airlines had to cancel 20% of all flights, a total of 141. United canceled 221 flights, or 8% of all flights scheduled for Monday.
This photo released by the National Transportation Safety Board shows a gaping hole where the paneled door was located in the fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on Sunday, January 7, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (National Transportation safety board). via AP)
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun called for a company-wide webcast Tuesday to speak to employees and executives about the incident.
“When serious accidents like this occur, it is critical for us to work transparently with our customers and regulators to understand and address the causes of the event and ensure that they do not occur again,” Calhoun wrote in a Sunday Message to employees. “That is and must be the focus of our team now.”
Stephanie Shinn of Kenmore waits for hours while her husband waits in line to rebook their flight to Philadelphia after their Alaska Airlines flight was canceled Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024, at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in SeaTac, Washington . (Karen Ducey/The Seattle Times via AP)
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 departed Portland at 5:07 p.m. Friday for a two-hour flight to Ontario, California. About six minutes later, the fuselage exploded as the plane reached an altitude of about 16,000 feet (4.8 kilometers).
One of the pilots declared an emergency and asked for permission to descend to 10,000 feet (3 kilometers), where the air would be rich enough for passengers to breathe without oxygen masks.
Videos posted online by passengers showed a gaping hole where the paneled door had been. They applauded as the plane landed safely about 13 minutes after the explosion. Firefighters came down the aisle and asked passengers to stay in their seats while they treated the injured.
It was very fortunate that the plane had not yet reached cruising altitude, where passengers and flight attendants might be milling around in the cabin, Homendy said.
On a personal electronic GPS, Beaverton, Oregon, resident Adam Pirkle displays the 14 miles he biked around his neighborhood and southwest Portland, Oregon, in search of the Hull on Sunday, January 7, 2024 A Boeing 737 Max 9 became dislodged shortly after an Alaska Airlines flight took off on Friday, January 5th. (AP Photo/Claire Rush)
The affected aircraft rolled off the assembly line and received certification two months ago, according to FAA online records. According to FlightRadar24, another tracking service, there have been 145 flights since it went into operation on November 11th. The flight from Portland was the third of the day.
Alaska Airlines Flight 1276, a Boeing 737-900, taxis before takeoff from Portland International Airport in Portland, Ore., Saturday, January 6, 2024. The FAA has ordered the temporary grounding of Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft after a fuselage damage occurred exploded during a flight. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)
The Max is the latest version of Boeing's venerable 737, a twin-engine, single-aisle plane often used on domestic flights in the United States. The aircraft entered service in May 2017.
In 2018 and 2019, two Max 8 jets crashed, killing 346 people. All Max 8 and Max 9 planes were grounded worldwide for nearly two years until Boeing made changes to an automated flight control system that was implicated in the crashes.
The Max was plagued by other problems, including manufacturing defects, concerns about overheating that led the FAA to advise pilots to limit the use of an anti-ice system, and a possible loose screw in the rudder system.
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Koenig reported from Dallas. Associated Press reporter Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed to this report.