Loose bolts found on more Max 9s after Alaska Airlines’ ordeal

Virgin Australia insists it has no concerns about its order for Boeing Max 10s despite issues with other variants of the aircraft type.

The gaping hole in an Alaska Airlines’ Boeing 737 Max-9 after a door plug blew out mid-air. Incredibly, all on board survived.

Fresh doubts have arisen about Boeing’s Max family of aircraft after inspections revealed loose bolts on a number of other Max 9s in Alaska Airlines’ and United Airlines’ fleets.

The aircraft were pulled from flight schedules after a door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines’ Max 9, resulting in a terrifying ordeal for passengers and crew.

In an incredible stroke of luck, no passengers were seated alongside the door plug in row 26 when it blew off as the flight ascended from Portland International Airport on January 5.

The door plug, which was not actually in use as an exit on the aircraft because of the seat configuration, was found on Monday in a Portland backyard.

The door plug from the Alaska Airlines flight. Picture: AFP/NTSB

The incident resulted in the grounding of Max 9s, predominantly operated by Alaska and United Airlines.

On Tuesday, United revealed inspections of its own Max 9s had found some loose bolts, thought to have been the cause of the Alaska Airlines emergency.

A statement from United said the airline had “found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug — for example bolts that needed additional tightening”.

“These findings will be remedied by our technical operations team to safely return the aircraft to service,” said a United spokeswoman.

Alaska Airlines also revealed initial reports from technicians indicated “loose hardware visible on some aircraft”.

“When we are able to proceed with the formal inspection process, all aircraft will be thoroughly inspected in accordance with detailed instructions provided by the Federal Aviation Administration in consultation with Boeing,” said a statement from Alaska Airlines.

“No aircraft will be returned to service until all of these steps are complete.”

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was aware of the reports of “loose bolts” but its sole focus was the door plug from flight 1282.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said they had established that all 12 stop fittings designed to keep the door plug in place had disengaged during the incident.

She said it was unclear if four bolts normally used on the door plug were ever in place but scientific examinations would confirm if that was the case.

Ms Homendy said interviews with cabin crew seated closest to row 26 did not have a clear view of what was occurring, and felt traumatised by the incident.

“A very small mirror is provided to look down the aisle. It’s not sufficient,” Ms Homendy said.

“Flight attendants mentioned communications were very poor and it was a pretty terrifying experience. The interviews have been very emotional. This was a really significant event with zero information at the time.”

Boeing expressed its “deep regret” at the impact the event was having on its customers and their passengers.

Investigations are ongoing as to what caused the in-flight incident.

The US manufacturer stressed safety was its “top priority” and it was fully supportive of the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to require immediate inspections of Max 9s.

No Max 9s currently operate in Australia, although Virgin Australia and Bonza both fly 737 Max 8s which returned to service in late 2020 after being grounded for almost two years due to safety issues.

A Bonza spokesman said they had received an assurance from Boeing there was “no impact” to their fleet.

“Bonza doesn’t operate any of the 737 Max-9 aircraft that have been temporarily grounded for inspection,” he said.

Virgin Australia has 25 Max 10s on order, with deliveries due to start late next year, and on Tuesday the airline insisted it held no concerns about the aircraft and refused to comment further.

Given the history with other Max types, it was expected Boeing would go to extreme lengths to ensure the 10 variant was issue-free.

The 737 Max 10 was due to enter service later this year, offering more capacity than the 9, seating up to 230 passengers compared with 220.

Credit ratings agency Morningstar DBRS warned the discovery of a “fundamental design flaw” in the Max 9 could impact the credit profile of the airline sector or airlines themselves.

“This incident highlights the sector’s vulnerability to operational disruptions as well as manufacturing and design vulnerabilities of aircraft models,” said Morningstar DBRS assistant vice president of diversified industries Rohit Kumar.