A door plug that broke off midair from an Alaska Airlines passenger plane during a flight earlier this month may have been missing bolts meant to secure it in place when the aircraft left Boeing’s factory, according to a report.
The apparent absence of markings on the door plug has led Boeing and other industry officials to believe that employees of the plane maker failed to put the bolts back after opening or removing the plug during production of the 737 MAX 9, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
These people, according to the newspaper, also noted lapses in the paperwork and procedures related to Boeing’s work on the door plug at its factory in Renton, Washington.
The door plug on a 737-9 MAX plane detached just minutes after Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 took off from Portland, Oregon, on Jan. 5 and reached 16,000 feet. The loss of the plug caused the cabin to depressurize, and a gaping hole sucked out cell phones and ripped a child’s shirt off his body.
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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded the aircraft the next day. Alaska and United Airlines, the two U.S. carriers that fly the MAX 9, have been forced to cancel thousands of flights.
The FAA said last week that it will not grant Boeing any production expansion of the MAX, including the 737-9 MAX. The agency also approved a thorough inspection and maintenance process that must be performed on each of the grounded 171 MAX 9 jets before being eligible to return to service.
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Alaska Airlines resumed service of its 737 MAX 9 fleet on Friday with a flight from Seattle to San Diego after completing the final inspections on its first group of 737 Max 9 aircraft. Inspections on its remaining aircraft are expected to be completed by the end of this week.
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The FAA is still investigating Boeing as well as its manufacturing practices and production lines, including those involving subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems, which makes fuselages for Boeing.
Fox Business’ Greg Norman and Stepheny Price contributed to this report.