"I'm angry," Alaska Airlines Ben Minicucci told NBC News, reporting that inspections of its Boeing 737 Max 9 were supposed to take hours and ended up revealing more problems with the jets. "This happened to Alaska Airlines. It happened to our guests and happened to our people."
The review follows an incident in which a panel on one of its MAX 9s blew out midair on a flight with 177 people aboard. No-one was hurt, as it was shortly after takeoff and passengers were still belted in, but the fleet was grounded nationwide. More than 300 passengers were killed in crashes of Boeing 737 MAXes in 2018 and 2019, leading to intense scrutiny of the company's lost engineering culture and its infestation by cost-cutting, safety-indifferent bean counters.
United reports that it has also found more problems, such as loose bolts, on its new 737s.
U.S. AIRCRAFT SAFETY EXPERT JOHN COX:
"This changes a lot because it is now a fleet problem. This is a quality control problem."
ANTHONY BRICKHOUSE, AN AIR SAFETY EXPERT AT EMBRY-RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY:
"It was really important to figure out whether it was that specific aircraft from Friday night, whether it was an issue with Alaska Airlines' fleet specifically or whether it's a broader issue that could impact all MAX 9s that have that door. The fact that United has now found some aircraft with loose bolts, that just means that the investigation is going to be expanded.
Springtime for Airbus!
