Bolts on Alaska Max 9 Door Plug Appeared to Be Missing

09.02.2024 - 11:39 / skift.com / Dave Calhoun / Meghna Maharishi

Four bolts appeared to be missing on a door plug that blew off from a Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board. 

On January 5, a door plug suddenly fell off an Alaska plane just minutes after takeoff, leading to a rapid decompression on the aircraft. The incident had prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to ground the Max 9 for nearly a month.

Here is what the NTSB said:

Spirit said in a statement on Tuesday that it plans to work closely with Boeing to improve its production processes.

“As we review the NTSB’s preliminary report, we remain focused on working closely with Boeing and our regulators on continuous improvement in our processes and meeting the highest standards of safety, quality and reliability,” Spirit said.  

Due to the grounding, the FAA decided to halt the production expansion of the 737 Max. Boeing said in its last earnings call that it is manufacturing 38 737 Maxes a month until regulators are satisfied with its production and quality control. 

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said Boeing is taking full accountability for the incident.

“Whatever final conclusions are reached, Boeing is accountable for what happened,” Calhoun said in a statement. “An event like this must not happen on an airplane that leaves our factory. We simply must do better for our customers and their passengers.”