The American airline Alaska Airlines has decided to ground its Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft after a plane carrying 177 people had to make an emergency landing shortly after take-off in the USA because part of the plane crashed. “Following this evening's incident on Flight 1282, we have decided to temporarily ground our fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft as a precautionary measure,” Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci announced in a statement.
The flight took off from Portland in the northwestern United States at 5:00 p.m. local time on Friday bound for Ontario, California, but had to return about 20 minutes later after “a problem with the pressure equalization” was reported by the company. US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on the social network It looks like a hole for an emergency door, apparently not activated. Inside the aircraft, part of the cabin wall was also torn, exposing insulating material.
A passenger on the flight, Kyle Rinker, told CNN that the window exploded shortly after takeoff. “Suddenly I heard a big bang,” Elizabeth Le, another passenger, said in an interview with local station KCAL News. “Then I look to the left and I see a huge piece, part of the plane that was just missing, and the wind was extremely strong. “The wind was blowing everywhere, but everyone was in their seats,” he added.
According to witnesses quoted by American media, no one occupied the seat closest to the gap. There were passengers in the middle and aisle seats who were moved to another part of the aircraft with the help of the flight attendants. The plane was certified in October, according to online FAA records collected by the AFP agency.
According to the Alaska Airlines Association of Flight Attendants, flight attendants described the decompression as “explosive” and one flight attendant suffered minor injuries. “Without the exceptional skill and professionalism of the flight attendants and pilots, the situation could have been catastrophic,” he said in a statement. The flight was carrying 171 passengers and 6 crew members.
The incident threatens to put Boeing and its 737 MAX model back in the eye of the hurricane after it had its flying license revoked in 2019 – the American manufacturer even halted production – after two fatal accidents left 300 people dead. In October 2018, the plane crashed in the Java Sea in Indonesia. 610 from budget airline Lion Air, operated by a 737 MAX 8; A few months later, in March 2019, 157 people died on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in the worst air disaster of the year – the aircraft model was the same.
The investigation launched after the two accidents found flaws in the design of the model's stabilization system (MCAS) and that the company knew about the flaw despite having assured that the 737 MAX was as safe as any other type of aircraft. For misleading investors, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined the company $200 million and fined its former CEO Dennis A. Muilenburg another $1 million. The FAA grounded the 737 MAX until November 2020.
“No aircraft will fly again until all maintenance and safety inspections are completed,” Alaska Airlines’ Minicucci added in the statement, estimating that would take a few days. Boeing, in turn, published a message on X in which he assures that he is investigating the incident. “We are aware of the incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight No. AS1282. We are working to gather more information and are in contact with our airline customer. “A Boeing technical team is ready to assist in the investigation.” The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have also announced that they are investigating the case.
The 737 Max is Boeing's most popular aircraft and its largest source of revenue. Single-aisle aircraft such as the Max and the corresponding Airbus SE A320neo family are primarily used on short-haul routes. There are approximately 1,200 737 Max aircraft flying, but the vast majority are of the 737 Max 8 variant, followed by the 8-200, while there are just over 200 of the variant that suffered the incident, the 737 Max 9. Alaska Air is the second largest operator of the 737 Max 9 variant after United Airlines with around 80. Other airlines operating this variant are Copa Airlines with 29 units and Aeroméxico with 19. FlyDubai, which has three Boeing Max 9 aircraft said it was aware of the reports and said its planes had a different cabin configuration than the Alaska model, Bloomberg reports.
The 737 Max has a modular fuselage structure that allows for more variable installation of emergency doors depending on the number of seats. This offers the operator greater flexibility in cab configuration. On the 737-9 Max, Boeing has a cabin exit door behind the wings but in front of the rear exit door. Activates in tight seating configurations to meet evacuation requirements. According to Bloomberg, the doors on Alaska Airlines planes cannot be activated and are permanently covered.
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