The US regulator named the reason for the depressurization of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 – Kommersant

US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reportedthat the emergency exit hatch plug on the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX was not secured at all. As a result, when the plane was flying from Portland to Ontario on January 6, the plug fell off, which led to depressurization of the cabin and forced the crew to make an emergency landing.

“The observed pattern of damage and the absence of contact damage or deformation around the holes … indicate that the four bolts preventing the plug from moving upward were missing before the plug moved upward from the locking pads,” the NTSB said in its preliminary report.

After the incident with the Alaska Airlines plane, the US Civil Aviation Administration (FAA) decided to suspend operation of selected Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft for inspection purposes. The FAA’s order affects 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, almost all of which are in the United Airlines and Alaska Airlines fleet. Soon American airlines reportedthat during a mass inspection of Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft it was discovered that hatch covers were installed improperly on many of them.

January 21 FAA decidedthat due to the depressurization of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 Alaska Airlines, carriers should conduct an additional check of another model of the American aircraft concern – the 737 MAX 900ER.

This week Boeing reportedwhich discovered new problems with the fuselage of 737 MAX aircraft – some 737 MAX aircraft had incorrectly drilled holes for rivets.

Read about how Boeing is trying to regain the trust of airlines after the incident with a falling hatch plug. “With the Doors Wide Open”.

Kirill Sarkhanyants