In this photo released by the National Transportation Safety Board, Principal Investigator John Lovell examines the fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 in Portland, Oregon, on Jan. 7, 2024.
National Transportation Safety Board via AP
Bolts appeared to be missing from a door plug that blew out in the a Boeing 737 Maximum 9 handled by Alaska Airlines last month, according to a new report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The Jan. 5 crash left a gaping hole in the side of the fuselage as the plane full of passengers climbed from Portland, Oregon and was flying at about 16,000 feet. The exploded panel is used to connect an unused emergency exit.
“Overall, the observed damage patterns and the absence of contact damage or distortion around the holes associated with the vertical stop bolts and the upper guide track bolts on the upper guide components, the hinge components, and the recovered guide component rear lower hinge indicate that four bolts obstruct The upward movement of the MED plug was missing before the MED plug moved up from the stop pads,” the NTSB said in its preliminary report, released Tuesday.
The preliminary report on Flight 1282 provides the most details about what went wrong before the plane was delivered to Alaska Airlines late last year.
The fuselage, including the door plug, are both produced from Spirit AeroSystemsarrived at the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington, on August 31. A repair was listed a day later for five damaged rivets, a job that required removing the bolts, the NTSB said.
“The investigation is ongoing to determine what construction documents were used to authorize the opening and closing of the left [door] plug while reworking the rivet,” the NTSB said.
“Boeing appreciates the work of the US National Transportation Safety Board and will review its findings promptly. And we will continue to cooperate fully and transparently with the NTSB and FAA investigations,” the company said in a statement.
The accident caused the Max 9 to be grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration for much of last month. Most of the Max 9 planes in the US have returned to service.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, under pressure to address manufacturing defects that have delayed plane deliveries, said the company was responsible for what went wrong.
“We caused the problem,” Calhoun said on a Jan. 31 earnings call. “Over these past few weeks, I’ve had tough conversations with our customers, our regulators, congressional leaders and others. We understand why they’re angry and we’ll work to earn their trust.”
The FAA also controls Boeing’s production lines and last month said it would prevent the company from increasing production of its flagship Max jet beyond the current 38 a month it produces until regulators are satisfied with its manufacturing processes.
The January 5th accident happened just as Boeing was trying to ramp up production.
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