US accident investigators have now presented initial findings about the near-disaster on a Boeing flight about a month ago. On the torn out fuselage part of a Boeing 737-9 Max Apparently mandatory fastening parts were missing. The condition of the fragment and the adjacent fuselage elements indicate the absence of four bolts in a securing mechanism, the NTSB said in a preliminary report. The bolts are actually intended to ensure that the fuselage part cannot move upwards. According to the report, the bolts apparently had not been reinserted after a repair at the Boeing factory.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said after the investigators’ release: “Whatever the final conclusions, Boeing is responsible for what happened. An incident like this should not happen on an aircraft leaving our factory.”
With the one as good as new 737-9 Max of Alaska Airlines with more than 170 people on board, a part of the fuselage in row 26 of seats broke off on January 5th shortly after take-off. At this point, some configurations of the more seat type have a door. The affected variant of the 737-9 Max instead it just has a cover that closes the opening. No one was seriously injured in the incident – by a lucky coincidence, the two seats directly at the opening were unoccupied.
After the incident, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other authorities ordered all approximately 170 similar aircraft of the type to be grounded for investigations. Alaska and United Airlines found loose fasteners in the area on other planes. It was not until the end of January that the FAA released the procedure for inspections, after which the aircraft were allowed to take off again. No aircraft of the affected model are in use by EU airlines.
The incident in early January has become a new crisis for Boeing after the Airbus rival was recovering from two fatal crashes 737 Max to recover in 2018 and 2019 and the subsequent Corona crisis.
The FAA has banned Boeing from producing the 737 Max to 50 from the current 38 machines per month and wants to take a closer look at the company. The US aircraft manufacturer is in danger of losing further ground on Airbus.