In addition to the recent cabin panel blowout incident on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9, further inspections have revealed more concerns. United Airlines and Alaska Airlines reported finding loose parts on multiple grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft. United Airlines discovered bolts that needed additional tightening, while Alaska Airlines noted visible loose hardware on some of their aircraft during fleet inspections. These issues were focused on an area known as the door plug, a cover panel used to fill an unneeded emergency exit on planes with fewer seats. The same type of panel was involved in the recent Alaska Airlines incident, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ground all aircraft with this configuration.
This recent finding of loose hardware raises additional concerns about the manufacturing process and quality control for the 737 Max 9. United Airlines, with 79 Max 9 planes, has the largest fleet of this aircraft variant, followed by Alaska Airlines, which has 65. Other operators include Turkish Airlines, Panama’s Copa Airlines, and Aeromexico. Boeing has stated its commitment to ensuring the safety and quality standards of its airplanes and is in close contact with operators to address any findings during the inspections. The FAA has approved a roadmap for carriers to complete inspections, which include both left and right door plugs, components, and fasteners. The planes will remain grounded until these enhanced inspections are completed.
These developments are part of a series of issues that have affected the Boeing 737 Max, including two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that led to the worldwide grounding of the entire 737 Max fleet. The crashes, involving Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines, resulted in a total of 346 deaths and brought to light various design and oversight failures. Following these incidents, Boeing made significant changes to the aircraft, including its automated flight-control system, and the aircraft was cleared to fly again in late 2020.
