After the emergency landing of a passenger plane, American Alaska Airlines dozens Boeing 737 Max Nine planes have been grounded for safety checks.
Flight 1282, bound for Ontario, California, suffered severe depressurization during the horrific crash at 16,000 feet on Friday evening.
In posts uploaded on social media, a window and part of the side of the plane are missing and oxygen masks are hanging off.
In dramatic eyewitness accounts, a child sitting near the window shattering site had to be strapped into his seat as the sudden depressurization caused light objects such as mobile phones to fly out of the plane.
In the photos shared on the photo-sharing website Imgur, it can also be seen that the rear mid-cabin exit door separated from the plane during the flight.
All 177 passengers and crew were safe when the plane landed back in Portland. But the incident has once again raised questions about the type of aircraft involved in the two fatal crashes.
The cause of the apparent structural damage was not immediately known and no injuries were reported.
In a statement, the airline’s CEO, Ben Minicucci, said its fleet of 65 similar planes would be returned to service only after preventive maintenance and safety inspections, which he expected would take place in the “next few days.” will be completed in days’. US aviation officials have also announced an investigation.
We are deeply sorry for the disruption the 737-9 MAX grounding has caused our guests. We expect the disruption to last through at least mid-week. For the very latest information visit: https://t.co/wVG6kzt4ru
— Alaska Airlines (@AlaskaAir) January 7, 2024
The Boeing 737, which was first launched in 1967, is the world’s most successful airliner. But with the latest version, Max, there have been two crashes.
On October 29, 2018, a faulty sensor activated the anti-stall system that caused Line Air Flight 610 to crash shortly after takeoff from Jakarta. All 189 passengers and crew were killed.
Less than six months later, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi went missing under similar circumstances with 157 people on board.
Shortly thereafter, the plane was grounded around the world. After a rigorous redesign and certification, the aircraft is flying again – including with Europe’s largest budget airline, Ryanair.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday that a team of structural, operations and systems experts will arrive at the scene in Portland.
Boeing has also said it is investigating the incident.
“We are working to gather more information and are in contact with our airline customers,” Boeing said.
According to the FlightRadar24 website, Flight 1282 was at an altitude of 16,000 feet.
Federal officials have ordered the immediate grounding of some Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners until they are inspected after an Alaska Airlines plane suffered a blowout that left a gaping hole in the side of the fuselage.
Watch the footage captured by one of the passengers. pic.twitter.com/BTeQYSvPZr
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 6, 2024
“We want to go down,” the pilot told air traffic control, according to a recording posted on liveatc.net.
The pilot added, ‘We are declaring an emergency.’ “We would have to come down to 10,000 feet,” he added, referring to the initial stage height for such an emergency, below which healthy people are supposed to be able to breathe without supplemental oxygen. It happens.
Social media posts show oxygen masks dangling and part of the plane’s sidewall missing.
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Passenger photos show that a section of the fuselage occasionally used as an exit door from the rear mid-cabin was torn off, leaving a door-shaped gap.
An additional door is typically installed in low-cost airlines using additional seats that require more exit routes.
However, on Alaska Airlines jets these doors are permanently ‘plugged’, or disabled.
According to FAA data, the new Max-Nine was delivered to Alaska Airlines in late October and received certification in early November.
Anthony Birkhouse, an air safety expert at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, says: ‘Whenever you’re in a decompression like this, there’s a lot of safety involved.
‘I can’t imagine what must have happened to those passengers. There will be a loud noise. Air must be passing through this cabin. It would probably be a very difficult and certainly a scary situation.’
Brickhouse said the incident shows how important it is for passengers to fasten their seat belts while on the plane, even if the seat belt light is off. is functioning properly.
Reports indicated that the seat next to the left hand panel was empty.
“This is a very serious situation and it could have been worse,” he said. If someone had been sitting in that seat, and he had not been wearing a seat belt, the situation would have been different.’
Bloomberg reported Saturday that China’s aviation regulator is calling an emergency meeting to consider its response to the incident, including a possible re-grounding of the country’s Boeing Max fleet.
China was the first country to ground the MAX in 2019 and only recently began receiving new deliveries, although domestic services using the aircraft resumed in January last year.
Boeing said last week that it is urging airlines to inspect all 737 Max planes for a possible loose bolt in the rudder control system.
The FAA says it is closely monitoring the inspection of the Boeing 737 MAX and will consider additional action if more loose or missing hardware is found.
The most popular model of the Boeing 737 is made by Kansas-based Spirit Aero Systems, which spun off from Boeing in 2005.
In August, Boeing identified a quality issue with the Spirit that resulted in improperly drilled holes on the FT pressure bulkhead.
It was not immediately clear if the door ‘plug’ used to replace the door when not selected by airlines was also made by Wichita, a Kansas supplier. Nor has it been determined whether the Alaska incident is related to the factory’s process or design.
Whether the door ‘plug’ used to replace the door when not selected by the airlines is also made by the Wichita, Kansas-based company, nor was the Alaska incident related to the factory’s process or design.
“We are working to gather more information and are in contact with our airline customers,” a Boeing spokesperson said. Boeing’s technical team is ready to assist in the investigation.’
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2024-08-29 19:52:48
