A section of a Boeing 737 Max aircraft that detached during an Alaska Airlines flight was presented to the media on Tuesday at the National Transportation Safety Board’s facility in Washington, D.C. This piece will play a vital role in an upcoming two-day investigative hearing scheduled for next week. The incident occurred on January 5 during a flight when the aircraft was ascending to cruise altitude at 16,000 feet, and the detached panel was later found in a residential backyard near Portland, Oregon.
According to initial findings from the NTSB, four bolts crucial for securing the mid exit door plug were absent when the plane left a Boeing facility close to Seattle before being handed over to Alaska Airlines. Door plugs are components that seal openings designated for additional doors in situations where the number of seats does not necessitate more emergency-exit points. These panels resemble regular windows when viewed from inside the aircraft and are typically only operated for maintenance and inspections.
The specific door plug from the Alaska Airlines flight was initially fitted at a Spirit AeroSystems plant in Wichita, Kansas, but was removed at the Boeing factory for repair of damaged rivets. The NTSB plans to utilize the information gathered during the hearings conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday to finalize its probe into the detachment incident and develop safety suggestions as needed.
