Alaska 737-9 suffers explosive decompression

[deicer]

If you go to the Boeing website...

[Malcolm]

1 hour ago, deicer said:

If you go to the Boeing website...

The horse has died, time to stop beating it.  I would love to see some posts from AMS etc. who have installed or serviced this plug, lots of guesses but.....

[Malcolm]

An update. note the item re the cockpit door.

NTSB: All 12 stop fittings disengaged on Alaska plane door plug causing blowout

BYJEAN CARMELA LIM

2024-01-10

3 MINUTE READ

NTSB

The National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) has shared its initial findings following an investigation into flight 1282, disclosing what caused the door plug to separate from the aircraft’s fuselage, and noting what information Boeing needs to include in an updated manual.

What caused the door plug to blow out of the fuselage

Clint Crookshanks, Aerospace engineer at NTSB, explained what caused the door plug of the B737-9 MAX to expel from the fuselage. 

“The exam to date has shown that the door in fact did translate upward. All 12 stops became disengaged, allowing [the door plug] to blow out of the fuselage. We found that both guide tracks on the plug were fractured,” Crookshanks said.

 

Crookshanks added: “We have not yet recovered the four bolts that restrain it from its vertical movement and we have not yet determined if they existed there. That will be determined when we take the door plug to our lab in Washington DC.”

The NTSB also said that although it is not key to the investigation, the board is still looking for the door plug’s bottom hinge fitting and a spring, issuing a call to the public to notify the NTSB if the items have been seen. 

Alaska Airlines grounds 737 MAX 9 fleet after plugged door blowout midflight

• AIRLINES
•  
• AVIATION SAFETY

BYIAN MOLYNEAUX

2024-01-06

“No discrepancies” on the right door plug

Speaking at a media briefing on January 8, 2023, in Portland, Oregon, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said that at this point the board could not explain why the door plug stops were disengaged.

 

The NTSB structures team examined the right door plug in its installed position, and found “no discrepancies.” However, Homendy said that the board will conduct another inspection of the right door plug at the maintenance position when it is open at 15 degrees.

No correlation between decompression and previous alarms

Homendy said that the expelled door plug is now in NTSB’s possession and will be sent to the board’s lab in Washington DC where it will undergo a more detailed examination. The cabin pressure controller’s memory will need to be downloaded and a 3D scan of the left frame where the door plug was expelled will be conducted, among other investigative tests.

According to Homendy, the NTSB had requested a specialist from Boeing to assist the board in these tests.

 

She also said “at this time” the NTSB had found no indication of a correlation between the aircraft’s rapid decompression and three instances of the “auto pressurization fail light” triggering reported in the month before the incident.

Boeing to make changes in manual 

Homendy said the board found that the cockpit door of the B737-9 MAX was designed to open during rapid decompression and that the flight crew was not made aware of this feature. She added that Boeing will need to update its B737-9 MAX manual.

During the January 5, 2024 incident, the aircraft’s cockpit door opened violently mid-flight due to the decompression, and a flight attendant made three attempts to close the door. A laminated quick reference checklist used in emergencies flew out while the door was open.

“We found today that the cockpit door is designed to open during rapid decompression. However, no one among the flight crew knew that. They were not informed. So Boeing is going to make some changes to the manual which then hopefully will translate to procedures and information for the flight attendants and crew in the cockpit,” Homendy said.

 

[conehead]

1 hour ago, Malcolm said:

The horse has died, time to stop beating it. 

I disagree. Looking  forward to more humerous memes!  

[Specs]

Why design the door to open?  Maybe she meant it automatically unlocks?

[conehead]

2 hours ago, Specs said:

Why design the door to open?  Maybe she meant it automatically unlocks?

While I'm not familiar with the flight deck door on the Max, I do know that a decompression event will cause the door to unlock electrically on other aircraft types. Those other aircraft also have decompression panels built into a portion of the door. So, while the entire door would not blow open, a panel on that door would.

[deicer]

Evidence is showing that it is another design change that Boeing made without informing customers or changing manuals and training.

After previous issues along the same lines, I feel they are deserving of the beatings they are getting/will get in the press and online.

Their corporate culture hasn't changed.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/09/alaska-flight-incident-boeing-pilots-cockpit-00134515

Alaska flight incident reveals another feature Boeing didn’t inform pilots about

Federal investigators said that Boeing didn’t make pilots aware that when a plane rapidly depressurizes, the cockpit door will fly open.

The cockpit door aboard last week’s troubled Alaska Airlines flight surprised the flight crew by swinging open seconds after the fuselage suffered a potentially catastrophic rupture, according to the chair of the federal agency investigating the incident.

National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said during a news briefing Monday that the cockpit doors flew open immediately after the paneled-over exit door popped off of the fuselage. A flight attendant had to try three times to get it to close again, Homendy said.

“The cockpit doors flew open immediately and at this point the flight attendant in the forward portion of the aircraft was standing. The cockpit door flew open, hit the lavatory door,” Homendy said. “The lavatory door got stuck. She did attempt to shut the door three times, it eventually shut but it did blow open during the explosive decompression. 

 

Homendy’s revelation echoes criticism heaped on Boeing during earlier probes of another in the 737 MAX line of planes, the MAX 8, in which pilots said they were not properly trained on a flight control system on board the plane that was implicated in two deadly crashes overseas. In 2020, pilots were required to undergo new simulator training and training for erroneous angle of attack sensor malfunctions as part of the plan to put the 737 MAX back into service.

“It’s another round of Boeing not telling pilots about an airplane detail, which erodes the trust relationship and more importantly it narrows the safety margin.” said Dennis Tajer, a spokesperson for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents pilots from American Airlines.

Homendy said that Boeing would make changes to its MAX 9 manual to make clear that the doors are designed to open.

In June, the FAA announced it will require a secondary barrier between the passenger cabin and cockpit of new commercial planes that are manufactured starting in the summer of 2025.

[deicer]

On 1/13/2024 at 2:27 PM, conehead said:

I disagree. Looking  forward to more humerous memes!  

[Specs]

On 1/14/2024 at 11:19 AM, deicer said:

Homendy said that Boeing would make changes to its MAX 9 manual to make clear that the doors are designed to open.

A decompression panel would be better. 

As it stands now the NTSB has told every would be hijacker that if they can get on the plane with a gun, even though the door is bulletproof (it is btw),  if they put a hole or two in the window or the fuse instead then the cockpit door will open.  

Edited to add

After watching that I suppose a hijacker is more likely to succeed by buying the crew a few extra coffees before the flight 

Edited January 15 by Specs

[Malcolm]

Seems that Boeing is pointing the finger of blame squarely at Spirit.

Boeing to add further quality inspections for 737 MAX

 

FILE PHOTO: The fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 Boeing 737-9 MAX, which was forced to make an emergency landing with a gap in the fuselage, is seen during its investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in Portland, Oregon, U.S. January 7, 2024. NTSB/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo© Thomson Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Boeing will add further quality inspections for the 737 MAX after a mid-air blowout of a cabin panel in an Alaska Airlines MAX 9 earlier this month, the head of its commercial airplanes division said on Monday.

The planemaker will also deploy a team to supplier Spirit AeroSystems - which makes and installs the plug door involved in the incident - to check and approve Spirit's work on the plugs before fuselages are sent to Boeing's production facilities in Washington state, Stan Deal, president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a letter to Boeing employees.

The new actions from Boeing come after the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday extended the grounding of 171 MAX 9 planes indefinitely for new safety checks. Only after 40 planes are inspected will the agency review the results and determine if safety is adequate to allow the MAX 9s to resume flying, the FAA said.

In addition to the door plug inspections, Boeing teams will conduct checks at 50 other points in Spirit's production process, Deal said. Meanwhile, both Boeing and Spirit will open their 737 production facilities to airline customers for carriers to provide their own inspections.

Boeing will also hold sessions for employees on quality management, and bring in an outside party to conduct an independent assessment of its production process, Deal said.

Deal said the actions laid out in the letter are separate from the FAA's ongoing investigation and plans to increase oversight of MAX production.

 

Related video: Boeing MAX deliveries to China face new delay: WSJ (Reuters)

 

 

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However, before new MAX 9s are delivered, Boeing "will conduct the same thorough inspections of the mid-exit door plugs as mandated by the FAA," Deal wrote.

The regulator announced last week it will also audit the Boeing 737 MAX 9 production line and suppliers and consider having an independent entity take over certain aircraft certification responsibilities the FAA previously assigned to the planemaker.

Boeing has boosted its number of a quality inspectors by 20% since 2019 and plans to make additional investments to its quality units, Deal wrote.

"Everything we do must conform to the requirements in our QMS (quality management system)," Deal wrote. "Anything less is unacceptable. It is through this standard that we must operate to provide our customers and their passengers complete confidence in Boeing airplanes."

United Airlines and Alaska Airlines have canceled all MAX 9 flights through Tuesday.

(Reporting by Valerie Insinna; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Louise Heavens and Andrea Ricci)

[Malcolm]

UNION SPEAK OR ACCURATE?

 

 

Business Insider

Follow

'We have planes all over the world that have issues that nobody has found' — union leader accused Boeing supplier of lack of quality control

 

• A union leader told the WSJ that a Boeing supplier pressures workers to get the job done fast.
• And that this may be leading to issues with quality control. 
• Supplier Spirit AeroSystems builds the fuselages and other parts of Boeing planes. 

A key Boeing supplier is under scrutiny in the wake of the Alaska Airlines blowout.

Spirit AeroSystems is a Kansas-based company that builds the fuselages and other parts of Boeing planes — including the door plug of 737 Max 9 jets that were involved in the Alaska Airlines blowout earlier this month.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced a formal investigation into Boeing last Thursday, and will audit the 737 Max 9 production line and its suppliers.

Cornell Beard, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers chapter which represents workers at Spirit's Wichita factory, told The Wall Street Journal that problems with quality control could be caused by pressure on employees to work at pace.

"We have planes all over the world that have issues that nobody has found because of the pressure Spirit has put on employees to get the job done so fast," he said.

After the FAA grounded the 737 Max 9, Alaska Airlines and United Airlines found loose bolts during the initial inspections.

Related video: Boeing Boosts 737 Max Quality Inspections After Panel Detaches (unbranded - Newsworthy)

 

 

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When the door plug of Alaska Airlines flight 1282 was recovered, investigators found four bolts were missing — and weren't sure they were ever installed. The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting further tests on the door to determine how it came loose.

Joshua Dean, a former Spirit quality auditor, told the Journal he was fired after flagging wrongly drilled holes in fuselages.

"It is known at Spirit that if you make too much noise and cause too much trouble, you will be moved," he said. "It doesn't mean you completely disregard stuff, but they don't want you to find everything and write it up."

Boeing announced Monday new measures to improve its quality control system. That includes an additional layer of inspections through the build process at Boeing and Spirit's installation of the mid-exit door plug.

Spirit did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, sent outside US working hours.

In a statement last week, it said: "As a company, we remain focused on the quality of each aircraft structure that leaves our facilities."

[mo32a]

Boeing should bring it all back in house, try to get their reputation repaired.

[deicer]

1 hour ago, mo32a said:

Boeing should bring it all back in house, try to get their reputation repaired.

But...

That will hurt the bottom line and executive bonuses.

 

[Malcolm]

AD

 

CNBC

 

Boeing appoints independent advisor to lead 737 Max 9 review as groundings stretch on

• Boeing on Tuesday appointed retired Admiral Kirkland Donald to serve as a special advisor while the company grapples with the fallout from an Alaska Airlines midflight accident.
• The Federal Aviation Administration grounded Boeing 737 Max 9s earlier this month so the jets could undergo inspections after a door plug blew off Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on Jan. 5.
• Donald will lead a review of Boeing's quality management system and provide a report to CEO Dave Calhoun.

 

Alaska Airlines N704AL is seen grounded in a hangar at Portland International Airport in Portland, Oregon, on Jan. 9, 2024.© Provided by CNBC

Boeing on Tuesday appointed retired Admiral Kirkland Donald to serve as a special advisor while the company grapples with the fallout from an Alaska Airlines midflight accident on a 737 Max 9 and the subsequent grounding of that plane type.

Donald will lead a review of Boeing's quality management system and provide a report to CEO Dave Calhoun as well as the aerospace safety committee of Boeing's board of directors, the company said in a press release.

 

"I've asked him to provide an independent and comprehensive assessment with actionable recommendations for strengthening our oversight of quality in our own factories and throughout our extended commercial airplane production system. He and his team will have any and all support he needs from me and from across The Boeing Company," Calhoun said in a statement.

The Federal Aviation Administration grounded Boeing 737 Max 9s earlier this month so the jets could undergo inspections after a door plug blew off Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on Jan. 5.

The FAA said in a statement Friday that the grounding would remain in place while it reviews data from inspections of the aircraft.

Donald served in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear trained submarine officer for almost 40 years before retiring in 2013. His last assignment was as the director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.

Shares of Boeing fell about 8% Tuesday and are down almost 20% since the groundings began.

 

 

 

[deicer]

So it's gone from a 4-8 hour inspection, to a continuing grounding.  Is this going to turn into another regulatory issue like the MCAS?

[Kip Powick]

Donald served in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear trained submarine officer for almost 40 years before retiring in 2013. His last assignment was as the director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.

Should do well ......as a submariner

Is Boeing developing a Nuke seaplane ??

[deicer]

[deicer]

Revised safety briefings...

[Malcolm]

Boeing 737 MAX 9 Part in Plane Blowout Was Made in Malaysia, Official Says - WSJ

"FAA chief Mike Whitaker told The Wall Street Journal last week “all indications are it’s manufacturing” that led to the Alaska accident, and not a design flaw with the plug door."

The Wall Street Journal

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Boeing 737 MAX 9 Part in Plane Blowout Was Made in Malaysia, Official Says

Story by Paul Kiernan  • 1h

Boeing 737 MAX 9 Part in Plane Blowout Was Made in Malaysia, Official Says© Provided by The Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON—A Boeing 737 MAX 9 plug door that blew out during a harrowing Alaska Airlines flight earlier this month was manufactured in Malaysia, according to the nation’s top air-safety investigator, who offered new details from the probe into what led to the accident.

Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said Wednesday that Spirit AeroSystems produced the plug door in Malaysia before it wound up in the Boeing supplier’s Wichita, Kan., factory, and eventually on a train to the plane maker’s 737 factory in Renton, Wash., near Seattle.

 

Homendy said the safety board’s investigation would delve into the plug door’s production, transport, installation and entry into service––as well as quality checks along the way. The plug door’s origin highlights the complexity of Boeing’s supply chain after years of increased outsourcing of various components’ production. Boeing and Spirit said they are supporting authorities’ investigation into the accident.

“We have no indication right now of where in the process this occurred,” Homendy said after a closed-door briefing with members of the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday. “This could be anywhere along the line, and we are not just pinpointing manufacturing.”

The Federal Aviation Administration, which grounded about 170 MAX 9 jets after the Alaska blowout and emergency landing, said Wednesday the aircraft would be banned from flying passengers until it evaluated data from inspections of the planes’ plug doors. The agency offered no estimate for when the MAX 9 jets would resume flying.

 

Related video: Boeing to upgrade inspections after 737 MAX 9 door plug blows out mid-flight (KSNW Wichita)

 

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Alaska and United Airlines have said they found other MAX 9s in their fleets with loose hardware surrounding those jets’ plug doors.

Homendy said Wednesday some bolts on the plug door are supposed to be loose and aren’t meant to be torqued. Instead, she said, they are secured by pins. The NTSB’s metallurgical analysis will be looking for signs of fatigue cracking and corrosion and other potential factors that led to the Alaska blowout, she said.

The FAA also said Wednesday its investigation into Boeing’s manufacturing processes included those involving Spirit, once a unit of the aerospace giant it sold off in 2005.

FAA chief Mike Whitaker told The Wall Street Journal last week “all indications are it’s manufacturing” that led to the Alaska accident, and not a design flaw with the plug door.

Several senators who attended the briefing said the jets might have to remain grounded while the investigation advances. “They need to figure out what caused the problem, because it may be systemic,” said Sen. Jon Tester (D., Montana) in an interview.

 

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.), who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, said the panel would likely call a hearing to examine the FAA’s oversight of Boeing’s manufacturing. Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), the panel’s ranking member, said air-safety officials need to ensure a similar accident doesn’t happen again. “People get on a plane, they expect the doors to stay on,” Cruz said. “Who screwed up—we don’t know.”

Write to Paul Kiernan at paul.kiernan@wsj.com and Andrew Tangel at andrew.tangel@wsj.com

[conehead]

1 hour ago, Malcolm said:

Boeing 737 MAX 9 Part in Plane Blowout Was Made in Malaysia, Official Says - WSJ

The Wall Street Journal

Follow

Boeing 737 MAX 9 Part in Plane Blowout Was Made in Malaysia, Official Says

Story by Paul Kiernan  • 1h

Boeing 737 MAX 9 Part in Plane Blowout Was Made in Malaysia, Official Says© Provided by The Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON—A Boeing 737 MAX 9 plug door that blew out during a harrowing Alaska Airlines flight earlier this month was manufactured in Malaysia, according to the nation’s top air-safety investigator, who offered new details from the probe into what led to the accident.

Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said Wednesday that Spirit AeroSystems produced the plug door in Malaysia before it wound up in the Boeing supplier’s Wichita, Kan., factory, and eventually on a train to the plane maker’s 737 factory in Renton, Wash., near Seattle.

 

Homendy said the safety board’s investigation would delve into the plug door’s production, transport, installation and entry into service––as well as quality checks along the way. The plug door’s origin highlights the complexity of Boeing’s supply chain after years of increased outsourcing of various components’ production. Boeing and Spirit said they are supporting authorities’ investigation into the accident.

“We have no indication right now of where in the process this occurred,” Homendy said after a closed-door briefing with members of the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday. “This could be anywhere along the line, and we are not just pinpointing manufacturing.”

The Federal Aviation Administration, which grounded about 170 MAX 9 jets after the Alaska blowout and emergency landing, said Wednesday the aircraft would be banned from flying passengers until it evaluated data from inspections of the planes’ plug doors. The agency offered no estimate for when the MAX 9 jets would resume flying.

 

Related video: Boeing to upgrade inspections after 737 MAX 9 door plug blows out mid-flight (KSNW Wichita)

 

Good evening. Thank you for joining us.

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Boeing to upgrade inspections after 737 MAX 9 door plug blows out mid-flight

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Alaska and United Airlines have said they found other MAX 9s in their fleets with loose hardware surrounding those jets’ plug doors.

Homendy said Wednesday some bolts on the plug door are supposed to be loose and aren’t meant to be torqued. Instead, she said, they are secured by pins. The NTSB’s metallurgical analysis will be looking for signs of fatigue cracking and corrosion and other potential factors that led to the Alaska blowout, she said.

The FAA also said Wednesday its investigation into Boeing’s manufacturing processes included those involving Spirit, once a unit of the aerospace giant it sold off in 2005.

FAA chief Mike Whitaker told The Wall Street Journal last week “all indications are it’s manufacturing” that led to the Alaska accident, and not a design flaw with the plug door.

Several senators who attended the briefing said the jets might have to remain grounded while the investigation advances. “They need to figure out what caused the problem, because it may be systemic,” said Sen. Jon Tester (D., Montana) in an interview.

 

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D., Wash.), who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, said the panel would likely call a hearing to examine the FAA’s oversight of Boeing’s manufacturing. Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), the panel’s ranking member, said air-safety officials need to ensure a similar accident doesn’t happen again. “People get on a plane, they expect the doors to stay on,” Cruz said. “Who screwed up—we don’t know.”

Write to Paul Kiernan at paul.kiernan@wsj.com and Andrew Tangel at andrew.tangel@wsj.com

Who cares where it was made? That's irrelevant... it's the installation process at fault.

[Seeker]

56 minutes ago, conehead said:

Who cares where it was made? That's irrelevant... it's the installation process at fault.

Beat me to it.  There was nothing wrong with the part - it just wasn't bolted on properly and the inspections didn't detect this.

[moeman]

2 hours ago, conehead said:

Who cares where it was made? That's irrelevant... it's the installation process at fault.

"FAA chief Mike Whitaker told The Wall Street Journal last week “all indications are it’s manufacturing” that led to the Alaska accident, and not a design flaw with the plug door."

[Seeker]

16 minutes ago, moeman said:

"FAA chief Mike Whitaker told The Wall Street Journal last week “all indications are it’s manufacturing” that led to the Alaska accident, and not a design flaw with the plug door."

There are 3 possible aspects;

- manufactured incorrectly

- installed incorrectly

- designed incorrectly

I would rate Whitaker's answer as incomplete.

[conehead]

16 minutes ago, moeman said:

"FAA chief Mike Whitaker told The Wall Street Journal last week “all indications are it’s manufacturing” that led to the Alaska accident, and not a design flaw with the plug door."

Oh... well, that's a different kettle of fish then.

[Kip Powick]

If it is a " manufacturing problem" why has there not been a notice stating that all that type of door  are being removed, and replaced.