Experts say that the Alaska Airlines flight emergency is not likely to impact the air travel industry long-term but key players in the field should be looking at ways to increase safety and implement reforms moving forward.
Last Friday’s shocking incident happened when a door plug, a specific panel of the fuselage near the rear of the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft, blew out.
Approximately 171 people, including four minors and three babies, were on board the flight which left Portland International Airport for California around 5pm and returned after the equipment failed at 16,000 feet in the air. There were also six crew members working on the aircraft.
Several passengers sustained injuries that required medical attention, but were later cleared by medical staff, the airline announced in a statement.
In the short term, both Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, which found loose bolts on several of its models of the plane on Monday, cancelled hundreds of flights after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it would be grounding Boeing 737 Max 9s for inspection.
The maintenance work is expected to last anywhere from four to eight hours.
“That’ll disrupt (travel) for another three to four days,” Peter Goelz, former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), said. “That’ll be it. They’ll be back in service.”
The agency has launched an investigation into the accident, which is estimated to be finished in about 18 months.
Still, what’s clear is that the incident could’ve been much worse.
“This was an extremely fortunate set of circumstances that this thing blew off at 16,000 feet and not 30,000 feet,” Ed Booth, a board-certified aviation attorney in Florida said. “Had that happened, there would have been a catastrophe.”
The attorney suspects that lawsuits will be filed against the parties involved in response to the incident, but it’s not expected that litigation would do significant financial damage to either Boeing or Spirit AeroSystems, the manufacturer that made the door plug.
“The question is how many?” he said. “These people were traumatised, physically injured, they’re going to have ear problems, PTSD, you name it.”
Just a month before the incident, a lawsuit was filed against Spirit Aerosystems alleging that the company had “sustained quality failures” in its products.
In a statement, Spirit Aerosystems said, “We are grateful the Alaska Airlines crew performed the appropriate procedures to land the airplane with all passengers and crew safe. At Spirit AeroSystems, our primary focus is the quality and product integrity of the aircraft structures we deliver.
“Spirit is a committed partner with Boeing on the 737 program, and we continue to work together with them on this matter. Spirit is following the protocols set by the regulatory authorities that guide communication in these types of circumstances and we will share further information when appropriate.”
This handout image released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) shows agents inspecting the door plug from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on 8 January 2024 after being found in Portland, Oregon.
Boeing also has expressed its regret at the deeply embarrassing incident.
“Safety is our top priority and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers. We agree with and fully support the FAA’s decision to require immediate inspections of 737-9 airplanes with the same configuration as the affected airplane,” the company said in a statement.
“In addition, a Boeing technical team is supporting the NTSB’s investigation into the Jan 5 accident. We will remain in close contact with our regulator and customers.”
While conducting its investigation, the NTSB is probably going to examine the level of quality assurance for both Boeing and Spirit Aerosystems, Mr Goelz said. That means finding out if employees were completing their assigned tasks per the detailed instructions assigned to them. He predicts that the final investigation will reveal that the “quality assurance was not up to snuff” and the planes left the manufacturing floor without the bolts securely in place.
A plastic sheet covers an area of the fuselage of the Alaska Airlines N704AL Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft outside a hangar at Portland International Airport on 8 January 2024 in Portland, Oregon.
