FAA investigates Boeing over incident that ‘should never have happened’

The US aviation regulator has launched an investigation into Boeing over a door plug blowout that ‘should never have happened’.

The US Federal Aviation Administration has launched an investigation into Boeing, after declaring a terrifying door plug blowout on a 737 Max 9 should “never have happened”.

The door plug, which was meant to have been secured by four bolts and 12 stop fittings, blew out as an Alaska Airlines’ flight ascended from Portland on January 5.

At about 16,000 feet the door plug tore away from the aircraft, leaving a gaping hole in the fuselage to the horror of passengers and cabin crew. Incredibly, no one was seriously injured.

A strongly worded statement issued by the FAA in relation to the January 5 incident began with “this incident should never have happened and it cannot happen again”.

The FAA said Boeing had been formally notified of an investigation to determine “if the manufacturer failed to ensure completed products conformed to its approved design and were in a condition for safe operation in compliance with FAA regulations”.

“This investigation is a result of an incident on a Boeing model 737-9 Max where it lost a ‘plug’ type passenger door and additional discrepancies,” the FAA said.

“Boeing’s manufacturing practices need to comply with the high-safety standards they’re legally accountable to meet.”

The FAA then added that “the safety of the flying public, not speed, will determine the timeline for returning the Boeing 737-9 Max to service”.

In response to the investigation, Boeing was asked to provide evidence or a statement in the next 10 business days.

As well as the Alaska Airlines’ aircraft, a number of other planes operated by United Airlines have been found to have loose bolts, creating concern the issue was not isolated.

On Tuesday Boeing CEO David Calhoun told employees that the company needed to acknowledge its “mistake” and pledged to work with the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the incident.

The door plug from the Alaska Airlines’ Max 9 was later found in a backyard in Portland and turned over to the NTSB to help inform its investigation. Picture: AFP/NTSB

Much has been made of the fact Alaska Airlines was aware of a “decompression alert” relating to that particular aircraft, and had restricted its flights to under two hours over land.

However a senior Qantas pilot told The Australian it was not unusual for aircraft with minor defects to continue to operate on certain routes.

“Aircraft are such complex beasts,” the pilot said.

“You can have a relatively minor issue that keeps troubleshooting on the aircraft but it doesn’t ground the aircraft.

“There are defects that say you can keep flying that aeroplane between Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane but not to Perth and the entire industry sees that and we’re entirely comfortable with that.”

No Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft currently operate in Australia.

Virgin Australia and Bonza both fly Boeing 737 Max 8s, which were returned to service in late 2020 after a global grounding following two fatal crashes in five months.

Virgin Australia is expecting more Max 8 deliveries this year, followed by 25 Max 10s from late next year.

Despite the jaded history of the aircraft, Virgin Australia this week indicated it was not reviewing its order with Boeing.

Max 10s are expected to enter service overseas later this year.