Alaska Airlines Accident Could Have Been Much Worse, Investigator Says

 

    A federal probe into Friday’s Alaska Airlines flight has started with a focus on the door plug—still missing—that violently blew off the plane in midair, leaving a gaping hole in its side.

Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, examined the stricken Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet after she arrived in Portland, Ore., on Saturday afternoon. She described a ghostly scene inside the cabin with seat backs missing and with clothing scattered around.

We believe as a result of this violent, explosive action that took place and the rapid decompression, there was sort of a ripple effect throughout the plane,” she said in an interview Sunday.

The investigation is in its early stages. Technical specialists will examine everything from bolts on the door plug that ripped away to a pressurization system on the plane.

At this point, the probe is zeroed in on the Alaska Airlines accident and not on a broader set of aircraft, such as separate versions of the 737 MAX or other planes that have similar door plugs. The focus could change as evidence surfaces about why the part detached. “We don’t rule out anything at this stage,” Homendy said.

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a temporary grounding and immediate inspections of dozens of Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets. Alaska Air and United Airlines, two of the biggest users of the jets, canceled hundreds of flights over the weekend and said they would work with the FAA to conduct the inspections.

The accident could have been much worse had it happened at cruising altitude—with passengers and crew walking around the cabin—instead of during the plane’s ascent just about 10 minutes from the airport, Homendy said at a Saturday news conference.

“We are very, very fortunate here that this didn’t end up in something more tragic,” she said Saturday. No one was seated in the two seats next to the door plug that blew out.

The MAX 9 is a bigger version of the MAX 8 that was involved in two fatal accidents. Crashes of the smaller MAX 8 in 2018 and 2019 grounded the jets around the world for almost two years. The accidents took 346 lives and drew scrutiny from federal regulators and lawmakers.