Fogbow

bill_g wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 10:42 am It was the port side emergency exit that blew out shortly after takeoff. The entire section fell away take parts of the window seat as well. Thankfully only the aisle seat had a passenger, and he lost his shirt in the process.

U.S. temporarily grounds Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes after blowout

By David Shepardson, Valerie Insinna and Tim Hepher
January 6, 20247:32 PM GMT+1Updated 17 min ago

Jan 6 (Reuters) - U.S. regulators have ordered the temporary grounding of 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft for safety checks following a cabin panel blowout late Friday that forced a brand-new airplane operated by Alaska Airlines to make an emergency landing.

"The FAA is requiring immediate inspections of certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes before they can return to flight," FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said on Saturday. “Safety will continue to drive our decision-making as we assist the NTSB’s investigation into Alaska Airlines Flight 1282.”

A piece of fuselage tore off the left side of the jet as it climbed from Portland, Oregon, en route to Ontario, California, forcing pilots to turn back and land safely with 171 passengers and six crew on board. The plane had been in service for just eight weeks.

The Federal Aviation Administration's decision falls well short of a full indefinite safety ban comparable to the grounding of all MAX-family jets almost five years ago, but deals a new blow to Boeing as it tries to recover from back-to-back crises over safety and the pandemic under massive debts.

Boeing's best-selling model was grounded for almost two years following crashes in 2018 and 2019. The latest mishap also comes as Boeing and a major supplier are grappling with a succession of production or quality problems.

There were no immediate indications of the cause of the apparent structural failure, nor any reports of injuries.



https://www.reuters.com/business/aerosp ... 024-01-06/

pipistrelle wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 1:29 pm Someone wake Frater up.

Frater I*I wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 2:25 pm

pipistrelle wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 1:29 pm Someone wake Frater up.

[snore...]

As shown earlier by RTH, this isn't the overwing exit door failing, by design they can't be force out through the cut out in the skin, in fact pressurization prevents the overwing door from being opened period.

This is a failure of the plug put in as the customer didn't want the aft wing Pax [passenger] door feature. Since the skins are manufactured using jigs of a specific design, it is impossible to get a skin section without that door cut out, and hence the aforementioned plug.

Boeing needs to be worried though, running the N number tells me the aircraft rolled off the line this year, so this issue will be on them and not the airline maintenance personnel....the FAA will be back up their [expletive deleted] with a microscope again.

neonzx wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 1:32 pm The 737 Max series hasn't proven reliable over recent years as I recall.

Frater I*I wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 2:25 pm

pipistrelle wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 1:29 pm Someone wake Frater up.

[snore...]

As shown earlier by RTH, this isn't the overwing exit door failing, by design they can't be force out through the cut out in the skin, in fact pressurization prevents the overwing door from being opened period.

This is a failure of the plug put in as the customer didn't want the aft wing Pax [passenger] door feature. Since the skins are manufactured using jigs of a specific design, it is impossible to get a skin section without that door cut out, and hence the aforementioned plug.

Boeing needs to be worried though, running the N number tells me the aircraft rolled off the line this year, so this issue will be on them and not the airline maintenance personnel....the FAA will be back up their [expletive deleted] with a microscope again.

RTH10260 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 8:05 pm Depending who ones listens to, this opening is an optional door for boarding passengers, and by other counts its the location of an aditional emergency exit hatch in case the plane is configured to carry more passengers (I have seen mentioning more that 140 would require the extra exit). Possibly it is both

RTH10260 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 8:08 pm Who will find the crumpled remains of the missing fuselage panel in the wooded wilderness in the greater Portland area

Frater I*I wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 2:25 pm Boeing needs to be worried though, running the N number tells me the aircraft rolled off the line this year, so this issue will be on them and not the airline maintenance personnel....the FAA will be back up their [expletive deleted] with a microscope again.

Frater I*I wrote: ↑Sat Jan 06, 2024 8:11 pm It is an additional emergency exit, opening it will cause an escape slide to deploy.

BeastofBourbon wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 11:43 am I just saw a report that they believe the door is located near 217 and Barnes Rd./ Cedar Mill or Cedar Hills in Portland, very close to my neighborhood. Maybe I should walk around the property to check.

BeastofBourbon wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 11:43 am I just saw a report that they believe the door is located near 217 and Barnes Rd./ Cedar Mill or Cedar Hills in Portland, very close to my neighborhood. Maybe I should walk around the property to check.

northland10 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 2:25 pm Before the merger, Boeing was the home of the engineers and McDonnel-Douglas was the home of the spend nothings.

northland10 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 2:25 pm Before the merger, Boeing was the home of the engineers and McDonnel-Douglas was the home of the spend nothings.

Pre-meger, Boeing developed the the 707, 727, 747, 757, 767 and 777. Most of these were generally new platforms.

Douglas crated the DC-8, DC-9, and DC-10.

After they merged with McDonnell they had:

MD-80, an extension of the DC-9, and the updated 80 was the MD-90.

The Boeing 717 started as a MD-95 which was just an updated DC-9.

The DC-10 begat the MD-11.

Since the merger, only the 787 was a new platform. Everything else is extending the 737 and 777 (and one last attempt to extend the 747).