(TheConservativeTimes.org) – Over the weekend an Alaska Airlines door plug was blown out and videos that recorded the scene flooded social media. Afterward, United Airlines inspected its 737 Max 9 fleet to ensure that all planes were safe for future flights.
However, Alaska Airlines said that during the initial inspections, they had found “some loose hardware” on their aircraft.
Alaska Airlines spoke out saying that the findings will be fully addressed and stated, “The safety of these aircraft is our priority and we will take the time and steps necessary to ensure their airworthiness, in close partnership with the FAA.”
“Since we began preliminary inspections on Saturday, we have found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug — for example, bolts that needed additional tightening,” United Airlines said in a statement.
After these findings, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded all of their 737 Max 9s so they could be inspected and serviced. Because of this, they have also had to cancel flights; they canceled at least 200 flights on Monday and expect to cancel even more on Tuesday.
In response to the findings from United Airlines, Boeing sent out a statement saying, “As operators conduct the required inspections, we are staying in close contact with them and will help address any and all findings. We are committed to ensuring every Boeing airplane meets design specifications and the highest safety and quality standards. We regret the impact this has had on our customers and their passengers.”
The National Transportation Safety Board did not choose to comment on this as they are further investigating the Alaska Airlines incident from the weekend. They recently discovered the door plug, which was 26-by-46 inches and weighed 63 pounds, in the backyard of a Portland teacher’s home. It has been brought to a lab for testing and is being investigated as a piece of evidence.
Luckily, no one was hurt, but many spoke about how the events could have been “something so much more tragic.”
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