United Airlines Discovers Loose Bolts in Boeing 737 Max 9 During Inspections
Bolts that need “additional tightening” were discovered during inspections of Boeing 737 Max 9s, according to United Airlines. Inspections began on Friday when a portion of the fuselage collapsed from an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9.
United Airlines stated that “installation issues” with door plugs would be “remedied” before the aircraft type was returned to service. The US authority has grounded approximately 171 planes of the same class.
In a statement, United said: “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.” The door plug is a section of fuselage with a window that can serve as an emergency escape in certain designs.
United Airlines and Alaska Airlines operate most of the United States’s Boeing 737 Max 9s. At the same time, Turkish Airlines, Panama’s Copa Airlines, and Aeromexico have all grounded the same model for inspection. United said it had canceled 200 flights as of Monday and expected a large number on Tuesday.
“We have been able to operate some planned flights by switching to other aircraft types, avoiding about 30 cancellations each on Monday and Tuesday,” United said in a statement.
Meanwhile, on Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which governs air travel in the United States, announced that it had supplied a checklist for operators to follow during inspections. According to the FAA, all 737 Max 9 aircraft will be grounded until operators “complete enhanced inspections which include both left and right cabin door exit plugs, door components, and fasteners”.
“Operators must also complete corrective action requirements based on findings from the inspections prior to bringing any aircraft back into service,” the statement said.
According to flight tracking data, Flight 1282 began its emergency descent on Friday evening at 16,000 feet (4.8 kilometers).
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is investigating the event, stated that pilots reported pressurization warning lights on three previous flights by the Alaska Airlines Max 9 involved in the incident. The jet was barred from performing long-haul flights overseas so that it “could return very quickly to an airport” if the alerts occurred again, according to NTSB chief Jennifer Homendy.
It is unclear whether there is a link between the concerns that prompted the warnings and the issue that caused the burst on January 5.
Alaska Airlines’ Maintenance Teams Await FAA and Boeing Directives
Alaska Airlines stated in its most current statement: “While we await the FAA and Boeing’s airworthiness directive (AD) inspection requirements, our maintenance teams are prepared and ready to complete the needed inspections of the mid escape door plugs on our 737-9 Max fleet. “The 737-9 Max grounding has significantly impacted our operations.” We have canceled 170 flights on Sunday and 60 on Monday, with more expected.”
In a statement, Boeing said: “Safety is our top priority, and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers.”
In late 2018 and early 2019, two of its airplanes were lost in nearly identical events off the coast of Indonesia and outside Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Abeba. In total, 346 persons were killed. Both crashes were caused by faulty flight control software, which eventually forced the planes into disastrous dives despite the pilots’ best attempts.
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