Incident of January 5, 2024 which included a Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 led to the temporary suspension of all aircraft of the same series (one fleet of 65 Boeing 737 max9) belonging to an American company. The company also canceled 170 flights on Sunday 7 January and another 60 on Monday 8 and expects the travel disruption to last at least by the middle of the week. Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), US Aviation Safety Agencyhe announced temporary suspension of flights for some Boeing 737s other companies. Mike Whitaker, FAA administrator, explained that the agency will require immediate inspections of some planes before allowing them to return to the air.
The Alaska Airlines crash
The plane at the center of the accident, 1282, took off fromPortland AirportOregon, and was forced into a Emergency landing after a cabin pressurization problem. The event occurred just after launch, with images released by the FAA highlighting the opening one of the plane’s windows during flight. But apparently he was the one who jumped first sealed doors at wing height. As he explains Courier“this part is available on all hulls max 9 because in some specific configurations – such as those requested low cost, with more seats on board — used to install the exit door immediately behind the wings and just in front of the rear door“. On aircraft with fewer than 189 seats, such as Alaska Airlines aircraft, these the door is permanently sealed.
Despite the nature of the accident, everything The 171 passengers and 6 crew members on board the flight were not injured, thanks to the immediate response of the crew, who activated the passengers’ oxygen masks when they discovered a problem with overpressurization in the cabin. The aircraft was certified airworthy in October and has just been delivered to Alaska Airlines.
Global situation
Around 1,300 737 Max aircraft are in service worldwide with several airlines. As for the Max 9 model, there are approx 215, of which 79 are operated by the American company United Airlinesthe largest user of this model, a 65 from Alaska Airlines. Other airlines operating max 9 include Copa Airlines, Aeromexico, Turkish Airlines, FlyDubai and Iceland Air. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) stated this at this time. no European Union airlines use Max 9 with the same configuration as Alaska Airlines.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the government’s agency for investigating traffic accidents, are currently investigating airplane door entangled, which was found on Sunday, January 7, by a teacher at a Portland school in the Cedar Hills neighborhood, who he found it in his backyard. As he states ReutersJennifer Homendy, president of the NTSB, also emphasized this voice recorder in the cockpit she has not recorded any data since then was overwritten. He therefore again called on the regulatory authorities to require the modernization of existing aircraft with recorders capable of capturing at least twenty-five hours of datacompared to the two hours currently required in the United States.