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United Airlines found loose bolts, other issues on a key part of grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners

JacksinPA

JacksinPA

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apnews.com

Alaska Airlines' decision not to ground Boeing jet despite warning signs comes under scrutiny

The decision by Alaska Airlines to stop flying one of its planes due to warnings — yet keep flying it over land — is raising questions.
apnews.com apnews.com
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — United Airlines said Monday it found loose bolts and other “installation issues” on a part of some Boeing 737 Max 9 jets that were inspected after a mid-flight blowout on a similar Alaska Airlines jet on Friday.

The inspections are focused on plugs used to seal an area set aside for extra emergency doors that are not required on United and Alaska Max 9s.

“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,” Chicago-based United said.

The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all Max 9s operated by Alaska and United and some flown by foreign airlines after a terrifying flight on Friday night.

The Boeing jetliner that suffered an inflight blowout over Oregon was not being used for flights to Hawaii after a warning light that could have indicated a pressurization problem lit up on three different flights.

Alaska Airlines decided to restrict the aircraft from long flights over water so the plane “could return very quickly to an airport” if the warning light reappeared, Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said Sunday.
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Loose bolts? I'll stay home. At least I'll die in familiar surroundings instead of 34,000 feet over East Nowhere, TX.
 
JacksinPA said:
apnews.com

Alaska Airlines' decision not to ground Boeing jet despite warning signs comes under scrutiny

The decision by Alaska Airlines to stop flying one of its planes due to warnings — yet keep flying it over land — is raising questions.
apnews.com apnews.com
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — United Airlines said Monday it found loose bolts and other “installation issues” on a part of some Boeing 737 Max 9 jets that were inspected after a mid-flight blowout on a similar Alaska Airlines jet on Friday.

The inspections are focused on plugs used to seal an area set aside for extra emergency doors that are not required on United and Alaska Max 9s.

“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,” Chicago-based United said.

The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all Max 9s operated by Alaska and United and some flown by foreign airlines after a terrifying flight on Friday night.

The Boeing jetliner that suffered an inflight blowout over Oregon was not being used for flights to Hawaii after a warning light that could have indicated a pressurization problem lit up on three different flights.

Alaska Airlines decided to restrict the aircraft from long flights over water so the plane “could return very quickly to an airport” if the warning light reappeared, Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said Sunday.
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Loose bolts? I'll stay home. At least I'll die in familiar surroundings instead of 34,000 feet over East Nowhere, TX.
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Look for the union label. ;)
 
JacksinPA said:
At least I'll die in familiar surroundings instead of 34,000 feet over East Nowhere, TX.
Click to expand...

You won't die at 34k feet over. You'll die either when you hit the ground, or before it if that's high enough to suffocate before reaching breathable air. At a blind guess, I think you'd reach breathable air before passing out.

Though there have been a few people - query whether they're "lucky" - who have landed on a bush at terminal velocity and survived, albeit with a broken everything.
 
1704757567946.webp
 
Which auto exec was put in charge of this production line?
 
Interesting documentary about how Boeing went from focusing on quality and safety to instead focusing on maximizing profits for the shareholders.

www.rogerebert.com

Downfall: The Case Against Boeing movie review (2022) | Roger Ebert

The film is rigorously reported and short on melodramatic flourish, instead presenting the facts with a cold, furious clarity that better suits its subject.
www.rogerebert.com www.rogerebert.com

 
Boeing shares fell 8% after the announcement. Maybe I will stick with Airbus aircraft. Boeing's reputation has taken a serious hit over this model.
 
Bergslagstroll said:
Interesting documentary about how Boeing went from focusing on quality and safety to instead focusing on maximizing profits for the shareholders.

www.rogerebert.com

Downfall: The Case Against Boeing movie review (2022) | Roger Ebert

The film is rigorously reported and short on melodramatic flourish, instead presenting the facts with a cold, furious clarity that better suits its subject.
www.rogerebert.com www.rogerebert.com

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Curious how airplanes shedding parts inflight leads to promising future profits for shareholders...
 
Grizzly Adams said:
Curious how airplanes shedding parts inflight leads to promising future profits for shareholders...
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The goal was to maximizing profits for existing shareholders not future shareholders. That big and powerful shareholders could make huge profits from the rapidly rising stock price. While also diversify and sell of stocks, before the troubles with that strategy lead to tumbling stock price. While that strategy was bad for airlines, passengers, workers and the small shareholders that didn't sell of their stocks in time.
 
They should send all the affected Max9's through a D check, if for no other reason than to ensure there isn't something else lurking that can come up later.
 
This is very hard to understand outside of corner-cutting for cost-savings. Back when I was working on airplanes, a QA inspector had to inspect everything I did and then stamp the paperwork with his/her own personal identifier. That included bolts tightened to the proper torque and safety wire properly wrapped. Bottom line, multiple people had to put their name on the work, knowing full well that if we did a shitty job, we personally would have some tough questions to answer and might even be looking for another job.
 
Binary_Digit said:
This is very hard to understand outside of corner-cutting for cost-savings. Back when I was working on airplanes, a QA inspector had to inspect everything I did and then stamp the paperwork with his/her own personal identifier. That included bolts tightened to the proper torque and safety wire properly wrapped. Bottom line, multiple people had to put their name on the work, knowing full well that if we did a shitty job we'd have some tough questions to answer.
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Yep, and its still that way, but there are some serious concerns at Boeing, and most likely at Spirit AeroSystems. The planes with the loose bolts and the AS plane all were built during a certain time frame. I am a bit annoyed that the AS plane was ETOPS, and after getting warning lights on pressurization, all they did was restrict the plane to non Hawaii flying. US mainland to Hawaii is the longest route in the world without alternative landing sites, which is why ETOPS (Extended-Range Twin-Engine Performance Standards), I would hate to have had this happen at 34,000 feet halfway to Lihue.

When I worked at the airlines, we got ETOPS for our 757's, it takes a carrier a long time, and a lot of simulated flights, and a backup APU and lots of other modifications. The joke always was ETOPS really means: "Engines Turn or Passengers Swim"
 
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beefheart said:
They should send all the affected Max9's through a D check, if for no other reason than to ensure there isn't something else lurking that can come up later.
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I like this, but what would a D-check find that wouldn't have been discovered during assembly just months prior?
 
Grizzly Adams said:
I like this, but what would a D-check find that wouldn't have been discovered during assembly just months prior?
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Design flaws, loose bolts, frame damage, etc. You don't know what you will find...we know there was a strike at Spirit, we know that the frames in question came about during a specified time.

The whole reason behind the plugging of the exit is for re-sale ability, a carrier using the plug can sell the plane to a carrier that, because of the density of their seating, needs that exit door.
 
Mr Person said:
You won't die at 34k feet over. You'll die either when you hit the ground, or before it if that's high enough to suffocate before reaching breathable air. At a blind guess, I think you'd reach breathable air before passing out.

Though there have been a few people - query whether they're "lucky" - who have landed on a bush at terminal velocity and survived, albeit with a broken everything.
Click to expand...
There have been some remarkable survivals; Alan McGee, a WW2 B17 crew member, fell 20,000 feet without a parachute and lived. Steven Alkmade, Lancaster bomber gunner, was blown out of the aeroplane after it was attacked, fell 18,000 feet, landed in a tree and escaped with just a twisted knee.
 
coyote505 said:
Which auto exec was put in charge of this production line?
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what does an auto exec or unions have to do with anything.
if building an airplane is like building a car then most designs and torque specs are determined by engineers not the people on the line putting the thing together or an auto exec.
Have a nice day
 
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