It’s Raining Cats And Dogs…And Airplane Doors?
On January 5, 2024, a cabin door at the rear of a Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft unexpectedly detached just 10 minutes into Alaskan Airlines flight 1282 departing from Portland, Oregon. At an altitude of 16,000 feet, fortunately, all passengers had their seatbelts fastened, and flight attendants were not walking through the aisles, unlike what might occur at cruising altitudes (32,000 - 44,000 feet). Although there were luckily no injuries, this incident left many people afraid and unsure about flying. When it came to placing blame, everyone was pointing their fingers at the aircraft manufacturer: Boeing.
Image Courtesy: Kelly Bartlett / AP
Boeing has been under intense scrutiny for some time. In October 2018 and March 2019, Boeing was held responsible for two tragic crashes. Investigations revealed that both incidents were due to a flaw in a newly implemented software system intended to stabilize the aircraft, which instead led to the aircraft nose-diving.
The Alaskan Airlines incident stemmed from a door plug that had fallen off the plane. In response, the Federal Aviation Administration promptly grounded all MAX 9 planes equipped with this particular door plug, affecting approximately 170 planes in the United States. Alaskan Airlines and United Airlines were the carriers operating these specific planes. Consequently, disrupted schedules have left numerous individuals stranded, unable to reach their destinations.
In later January, the Federal Aviation Administration directed Boeing to limit its production of all 737 Max planes. Essentially, the federal government imposed restrictions on Boeing's aircraft production to prioritize safety concerns. Despite these limitations, the FAA cleared all grounded Max 9s for flight following inspections that confirmed their safety.
In early February, Boeing's situation took a turn for the worse as suppliers discovered two improperly drilled holes on Max planes. This finding creates the need to rework approximately 50 planes, leading to delays in delivering these aircraft.
With all of these incidents and information about the manufacturing coming to light, it paints an extremely bad picture for Boeing. Boeing seems to be continuously missing the mark regarding quality control, and we just cannot understand why.
When it comes to quality control, the FAA is responsible for conducting checks to ensure the safety of aircraft. However, it's become apparent that the FAA faces limitations in resources. Prior to the 2018 and 2019 plane crashes, the FAA had essentially delegated inspection authority back to Boeing, given their larger number of employees and experts in the field. Following these crashes, the FAA reclaimed this authority. Additionally, in response to incidents like the Alaskan Airlines flight, the FAA increased the presence of inspectors at Boeing's facilities. Despite this, these mistakes in manufacturing still took place at Boeing facilities.
Following the 2018 and 2019 crashes, Boeing welcomed a new CEO who pledged an emphasis on safety over financial gain. However, despite this commitment, it appears that we're back at square one. Many, myself included, are left wondering when Boeing (and if Boeing) will finally get its act together.
Strike Out,
Anjali Kamath
Boca Raton
Anjali Kamath is a Content Writer for Strike Magazine Boca. When she’s not belting her heart out on karaoke she’s either at the yoga studio or spending all her money. She’s a textbook Aries and a Diet Coke enthusiast. You can reach her at anjalikamath460@gmail.com
