Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun admitted a “mistake” on Tuesday, January 9, after a door jammed on an Alaska Airlines flight, causing dozens of 737 MAX planes to be grounded. 9 from the American manufacturer.
“We will get closer [ce dossier] “We are beginning to recognize our mistake,” the managing director said, according to a Boeing spokeswoman, at a meeting at the company’s factory in Renton (Washington state). Dave Calhoun promised to address the issue “transparently every step of the way.”
He said he would rely on America's Civil Aviation Regulatory Authority (FAA) “to ensure that all aircraft authorized to fly are safe and that this event never occurs again.” “All the details are important,” he stressed, claiming that the images of the Alaska Airlines flight that had to turn around Friday after a door was torn off stuck with him. The head of the aircraft manufacturer did not elaborate on what he meant by “mistake”.
Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers Crash avoided by Alaska Airlines flight: Boeing is under pressure after the reliability of the 737 Max is questioned
171 aircraft were temporarily unable to fly
Around 171 of the 218 aircraft of this type in use are affected by the flight ban ordered on Saturday. On Monday, United, which owns the world's first fleet of 737 MAX 9s (79 aircraft), said that during inspections on the defective doors of its 737 MAX 9s it had discovered “screws that needed to be tightened.” the same as the one that was demolished during the Alaska Airlines flight on Friday. Boeing offers its customers the option of locking certain doors if the number of existing emergency exits is already sufficient in relation to the number of seats in the aircraft. In addition to the 737 MAX 9, this device already exists on other Boeing models, in particular the 737-900ER, which was launched in 2006 and which has not experienced similar incidents since then.
Also Read: Inspections on Boeing 737 MAX Planes Show Loose Equipment on Alaska Airlines and United Planes
Also on Monday, Alaska Airlines announced that it had discovered “loosely fastened equipment” on some of its aircraft of this type following preliminary inspections. The reasons for Friday's outage are not yet clear and the US Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is continuing its investigation. Its president, Jennifer Homendy, announced Monday evening that she had found no bolts among the elements that disembarked from the Alaska Airlines plane on Friday. Further investigation will “determine whether the bolts were present,” she continued.
The FAA said in a statement sent to Agence France-Presse on Tuesday that “all Boeing 737-9s have a clogged door.” [resteraient] lie on the ground for as long as possible [l’agence] will not have found that they can be reused. The regulator said Boeing changed the instructions on Tuesday to allow a full inspection of the door, frame and fasteners after receiving feedback on the initial instructions on Monday. “Passenger safety, not speed [d’exécution des inspections]will determine the timeline for returning the 737 9 MAX to service,” the FAA added.
Almost 1,500 flights canceled
“We are still awaiting inspection and maintenance instructions from Boeing and validation of these procedures by the FAA,” Alaska Airlines wrote to his account. “Until then, the fleet (of 737-9s) will remain grounded. » The Seattle, Washington, company still had to cancel more than 100 flights on Tuesday due to the grounding of some of its aircraft. Since Saturday, Alaska Airlines and United have had to cancel a total of almost 1,500 flights.
This new setback, which follows a series of others in recent years, comes as Boeing rebounded and managed to improve its production rates at the end of 2023. After delivering just 15,737 MAX planes in September, that was the lowest monthly total for the year. After two years, then 18 in October, the Arlington, Virginia-based aircraft maker climbed to 46 in November and then 44 in December, according to on Figures published on Tuesday show.
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“I think Airbus and Boeing, and certainly Boeing, need to significantly improve their quality control,” European airline Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary told the Financial Times in an interview published on Tuesday. Ryanair, already a major Boeing customer, ordered 300 737 MAX 10 aircraft last May, a model that has not yet been certified by the FAA.
Read also the decryption: Article reserved for our subscribers. Airbus and Boeing have record orders but are having difficulty delivering aircraft