Boeing informed staff members on Monday that, in response to the emergency escape door panel failure on an Alaska Airlines flight last week, it intends to step up quality checks on its 737 Max 9 aircraft.
The newest incident for Boeing comes after a string of manufacturing errors have damaged the company’s reputation as the top American aircraft maker and caused some airlines to choose Airbus, a European company, instead of Boeing.
The 737 Max was grounded by federal regulators, and Boeing stated that it is “clear that we are not where we need to be” on quality assurance and controls following the Alaska Airlines flight and customer complaints. This is why the inspections have taken place.
“Our team is also taking a hard look at our quality practices in our factories and across our production system,” said Stan Deal, the president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, in an email to employees.”
Additionally, independent inspectors and airline customers are being brought in by Boeing to evaluate the aircraft as needed, according to Deal.
A week ago, shortly after the aircraft took off from Portland, Oregon, one of the two door plugs on an Alaska Max 9 blew off, creating a hole in the aircraft. The plane had to make a quick descent back to Portland for an emergency landing after the cabin lost pressure. There were no reports of significant injuries.
The Federal Aviation Administration declared last week that it would be looking into whether the maker had not ensured that a fuselage panel that flew off was safe and made in accordance with the regulator-approved design. This announcement came after the occurrence.
The National Transportation Safety Board is concentrating its probe on plugs used in Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners to fill empty spaces left by extra doors when those exits are not needed for safety.
The accident involving the Boeing aircraft in Alaska is the most recent in a series of misfortunes for the company that started in 2018. The first two Max 8 crashes occurred in Indonesia and Ethiopia, more than four months apart, and claimed the lives of 346 people in all.
Following the second crash, all Max 8 and Max 9 planes were grounded globally for almost two years. Since then, delivery of Max planes and the larger Boeing 787 have occasionally been delayed due to a variety of production defects. The business requested last month that airlines check its Max aircraft for a loose bolt in the rudder-control mechanism.
