PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Boeing jetliner The plane was hit by an explosion The Hawaii-bound flight over Oregon was grounded after warning lights came on that could indicate a pressurization problem on three different flights.
National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said Sunday that Alaska Airlines is forcing the plane to fly for an extended period of time over water so that it can “get back to the airport very quickly” if the warning light comes back on. It has been decided to limit the number of
Boeing stock fell 9% at the opening bell on Monday, the first trading day since the incident. Shares of Alaska Airlines fell 4%, and Spirit AeroSystems, which makes Boeing's 737 Max planes, fell 14%.
Homendy warned that the pressure light might be on. Unrelated to Friday's incident An accident in which a plug covering an unused exit door was blown off. boeing 737 max 9 It cruised approximately 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) over Oregon.
The warning light came on during three previous flights, on December 7, January 3, and January 4, the day before the door plug broke. Homendy said he did not have all the details about the Dec. 7 accident, but said the lights came on during the flight on Jan. 3 and again on Jan. 4 after the plane landed. The state of Alaska ordered additional maintenance to check the light, but it had not been completed by the time of Friday's incident, she added.
“We will look into it further and have requested documentation of all defects since the aircraft was delivered on October 31,” she said.
The NTSB announced that a missing door plug was found in the backyard of a home near Portland, Oregon, on Sunday. Investigators plan to determine how the plug, which measures 26 by 48 inches (66 by 121 centimeters) and weighs 63 pounds (28.5 kilograms), escaped.
Investigators have no benefit in hearing what was going on in the cockpit during the flight. Homendy said the cockpit's voice recorder, one of two so-called black boxes, recorded the sound of the flight two hours later.
At a press conference Sunday night, Homendy revealed new details about the chaotic scene that unfolded on the plane. The explosive air rush damaged several rows of seats and tore insulation from the walls. The cockpit door swung open and slammed into the bathroom door.
Troops ripped the headset off the co-pilot, and the captain lost part of his headset. Homendy said a quick reference checklist was placed within easy reach of the pilot and popped out of the open cockpit.
Two mobile phones believed to belong to passengers on Friday's horrifying flight have been found on the ground. One was found in the garden and the other on the side of the road. Both were turned over to the NTSB.
However, the plane returned to Portland with no serious injuries to the 171 passengers and six crew members.
A few hours after the incident, FAA ordered flight suspension The airline will store 171 of its 218 operating Max 9 aircraft, including all aircraft used by Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, until inspections are complete. While airlines were still waiting on Sunday for details on how they would test, both airlines had begun canceling flights involving Max 9 planes.
Early Monday morning, Alaska Airlines was forced to cancel 141 flights, or 20% of its total. United Airlines canceled 221 flights, or 8% of its total, scheduled for Monday.
Alaska Airlines, with 65 Max 9s, and United Airlines, with 79, are the only U.S. airlines operating specific models of Boeing's flagship 737 aircraft.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun called a company-wide webcast on Tuesday to discuss the incident with employees and senior executives.
“When a serious incident like this occurs, it is important that we work transparently with customers and regulators to understand and address the causes of the incident and ensure it never happens again.” Calhoun he said in a message to employees on Sunday. . “This is and must be the focus of our team right now.”
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 took off from Portland on Friday at 5:07 p.m., embarking on a two-hour journey to Ontario, California. About six minutes later, as the plane was climbing at about 16,000 feet (4.8 km), a chunk of its fuselage was blown off.
one of the pilots declared a state of emergency He requested permission to descend to 10,000 feet (3 kilometers), where there is enough air for passengers to breathe without oxygen masks.
A video posted online by a passenger showed a large hole where the paneled door used to be. They applauded when the plane landed safely, about 13 minutes after the explosion. Firefighters came to the aisle and asked passengers to remain seated while they treated the injured.
Homendy said it was very fortunate that the plane had not yet reached cruising altitude and passengers and flight attendants could have been walking around on board.
The aircraft involved rolled off the assembly line and received certification two months ago, according to online FAA records. Flight Radar 24, another tracking service, says it has operated 145 flights since it began commercial operations on Nov. 11. The flight from Portland was the third plane of the day.
The Max is the latest version of Boeing's venerable 737, a twin-engine, single-aisle aircraft frequently used on U.S. domestic flights. This plane entered service in May 2017.
Two Max 8 jets crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. All Max 8 and Max 9 airplanes are grounded all over the world It lasted almost two years until Boeing made changes to the automatic flight control system that were involved in the crash.
The Max has also been plagued by other problems, including manufacturing defects and overheating concerns that the FAA told pilots to avoid. restrict use Possibilities of anti-icing systems loose bolt with the rudder system.
