Boeing under pressure as FAA demands fixes for 737 safety concerns
Investigations continue into January's door blowout on a Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft during an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland International Airport. Now, the FAA demands Boeing a specific plan to fix the technical problems.
8:22 AM EST, February 29, 2024
On January 5, the incident occurred during the Alaska Airlines flight from Portland to Ontario, which still has numerous consequences. Shortly after takeoff, one of the plane's doors fell off, forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing. Fortunately, no one on board was injured.
Immediately, the government institutions started many investigations and hearings to scrutinize the cause of this event and who should take responsibility for it. As the National Transportation Safety Board informed at the beginning of February, the door blew out because of the lack of four bolts, whose role was to preserve the door.
Now, the Federal Aviation Administration gives Boeing 90 days to create a plan for how to fix such technical problems and avoid similar failures in the future. "Boeing must commit to real and profound improvements. Making foundational change will require a sustained effort from Boeing’s leadership, and we are going to hold them accountable every step of the way", said Michael Whitaker, the FAA Administrator quoted by The Guardian.
Moreover, the US Department of Justice is reviewing whether this January blowout violated the previous agreement between Boeing and the US government from 2021 after two plane crashes.
Sources: The Guardian, ABC News, CNN
