Alaska Airlines door blowout: Investigation underway into door plug issues on Boeing Max 9 aircraft
HOUSTON - An urgent investigation continues into what caused a door plug to fall off an Alaska Airlines plane mid-flight last week.
"We heard a really loud boom," said Kelly Bartlett, a passenger on the plane. "The plane just filled with air and wind and the oxygen masks dropped."
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Federal officials have since grounded all Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft in the United States. As a result, hundreds of United and Alaska Airlines flights have been canceled.
"I know people are going to be delayed and losing their flights, but safety first," said one United passenger Tuesday in Houston.
The door plug, an iPhone, and seat pieces have been located on the ground near Portland, Oregon. The pieces fell roughly 16,000 feet moments after takeoff.
"This really was a significant event," said Jennifer Homendy, National transportation safety board chair. "If we have a bigger system-wide or fleet issue, we will issue an urgent safety recommendation."
United Airlines is inspecting all 79 of their Max 9 planes. According to a spokesperson from United, "We have found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug – for example, bolts that needed additional tightening. These findings will be remedied by our Tech Ops team to safely return the aircraft to service."
Some travelers in Houston Tuesday said they’re now nervous about flying.
"Our work told us to verify the airlines weren’t using the Max 9, so we did," said Jessica Horton. "I’d be a little hesitant to get on that one."
"It has me questioning the safety of the procedures we have in place to certify these airplanes as being safe," said Kenneth Wells.
Wells is a retired Captain; he flew for Southwest Airlines for 25 years.
"There are Max 10s out there, Max 8s, and 7s," said Wells. "I would want to know what other bolts, what other hardware that has been constructed in these airplanes by that manufacturer that makes those fuselages. What other issues could we be dealing with that go beyond the Max 9?"
Federal officials are looking into the issue and possible impacts on other planes.