Developments from the investigation into the blow out of a door on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 overnight will be receiving mixed reactions in boardrooms in New York.
For Boeing, the news isn’t good. United Airlines has confirmed it has found loose bolts and other inconsistencies in the installation of the door plug since it began inspecting its Boeing MAX 9 aircraft.
It was ordered by the NTSB to carry out the checks following the grounding of the aircraft which was brought about by the incident on January 2 where part of the fuselage of an Alaska Airlines plane came off during flight.
“Since we began preliminary inspections on Saturday, we have found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug – for example, bolts that needed additional tightening,” United Airlines said in a statement.
“These findings will be remedied by our Tech Ops team to safely return the aircraft to service.”
Around 170 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft have been removed from service since the incident.
Meanwhile, a discovery on the ground below the location of the Alaska Airlines accident has been gaining a lot of attention on social media, and it’s good news for iPhone manufacturer, Apple.
Found an iPhone on the side of the road… Still in airplane mode with half a battery and open to a baggage claim for #AlaskaAirlines ASA1282 Survived a 16,000 foot drop perfectly in tact!
When I called it in, Zoe at @NTSB said it was the SECOND phone to be found. No door yet???? pic.twitter.com/CObMikpuFd
— Seanathan Bates (@SeanSafyre) January 7, 2024
So far, two iPhones have been located on the ground, 16,000 feet below where they were ripped from the hands of passengers and sucked out the hole in the Alaska Airlines aircraft in last week’s incident.
Amazingly, both were still working. One was in flight-mode and was still on the airline’s app showing the passengers luggage information, days after the phone had been dropped from a height more than 14 times that of Sydney’s Westfield Tower.
United Airlines discovery of the door plug’s incorrect installation means thiscould be a wider issue with the design of the aircraft and potentially others.
This is more bad news from the aircraft manufacturer just a few years after two fatal accidents grounded its Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.
