The Federal Aviation Administration has opened an investigation into Boeing’s role in a Friday blowout that left a refrigerator-sized hole in an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9.
The incident occurred on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, headed from Portland to Ontario, California. The Alaska flight was operating a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft. The FAA grounded that model of the Max on Saturday.
Investigators say a door plug positioned to fill a fuselage hole where an emergency exit can be installed blew out as the plane climbed to 16,000 feet. The plane returned safely to Portland International Airport, where some passengers were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
In the days since the incident, passengers and government agencies have been left wondering how such a thing could have happened.
On Thursday, the FAA said it never should have.
“It cannot happen again,” the agency said in a statement after notifying Boeing it had opened an investigation to determine if the company followed all required procedures to ensure that its aircrafts were able to operate safely.
“Boeing’s manufacturing practices need to comply with the high safety standards they’re legally accountable to meet,” the FAA said.
Boeing said on Thursday morning it would comply with investigations from the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the incident.
Spokespeople pointed to statements from Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun at an all-employee meeting earlier this week. There, Calhoun told workers the company would approach the situation with “100% complete transparency every step of the way.”
The company must now make sure customers know “every airplane that Boeing has its name on that’s in the sky is in fact safe,” Calhoun told employees.
Since the Friday incident, it has become clear that the circumstances leading the door plug to blow off may not have been a one-off mishap. As Alaska and United Airlines began inspecting the rest of their 737 Max 9 fleet, both separately announced that they had found loose hardware.
Alaska said it had “accessed the area in question” and initial reports indicate “some loose hardware was visible on some aircraft.” United said “we have found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug.”
Alaska and United are the only U.S.-based airlines to use the Max 9 model. Both airlines fly Max 9s with the door plug installed; an emergency exit is installed there only on Max 9s set up to accommodate extra seats in the cabin.
The investigation is focused on the door plug used to block that space — and four bolts meant to ensure that the plug stays in place.
The NTSB’s first conclusion, after inspection of the aircraft and the 63-pound door plug, is that four bolts that should have prevented the plug from moving outward must have been either missing, misinstalled or broken.
In a letter sent Wednesday to Boeing Vice President Carole Murray, the FAA said it had been “notified of additional discrepancies” on other Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft.
The “circumstances indicate that Boeing may have failed to ensure its completed products” were “in a condition for safe operation,” John Piccola, from the FAA, wrote in the letter.
A Boeing contractor performs much of the work for its 737 Max 9 aircraft. The entire fuselage of the jet, including the plugged door, is assembled in Wichita, Kansas, by Spirit AeroSystems, one of Boeing’s suppliers. The jet then arrives by train at Boeing’s Renton plant.
There, Boeing mechanics and quality inspectors complete the cabin interior, adding the wiring, insulation and sidewalls that cover the plug before adding the seats, galley, lavatories and other interior elements.
Boeing is responsible for certifying that each completed plane conforms to the approved design and is safe to operate, according to the FAA. It also must inspect and test products and ensure that “post-delivery activities” are completed following contract and regulatory guidelines.
The FAA asked Boeing to submit any evidence or statements related to the investigation within 10 days. If the agency doesn’t hear from Boeing within that time frame, it will move forward with its preliminary investigation report.
Boeing’s response, the FAA wrote in its letter, should include the “root cause” of the incident, details about service impacts and affected products, and information on any immediate and long-term action Boeing took to correct the problem.
The FAA on Saturday grounded all Boeing 737 Max 9 planes that fill the emergency exit slot with a door plug. The planes will remain grounded until they are inspected, following a set of instructions from Boeing that must be approved by the FAA.
“The safety of the flying public, not speed, will determine the timeline for returning the Boeing 737-9 Max to service,” the FAA said.
