The CEO of Boeing, Dave Calhoun, recognized on Tuesday January 9 a ” error “ after the stalling of a door during an Alaska Airlines flight, which resulted in dozens of 737 MAX 9 planes from the American manufacturer being kept on the ground.
” We will approach [ce dossier] starting by recognizing our mistake”, declared the manager during a meeting at the group’s factory in Renton (Washington State), according to quotes sent by a Boeing spokesperson. Dave Calhoun promised to address the issue “transparently, every step of the way”.
He said he would rely on the American civil aviation regulatory authority (FAA), “to ensure that all aircraft allowed to fly are safe and to ensure that this event never happens again”. “All the details are important”, he insisted, claiming to have been marked by the images of the Alaska Airlines flight, which had to turn around on Friday after a door was torn off. The boss of the aircraft manufacturer did not specify what he meant by ” error “.
171 planes temporarily prevented from flying
Some 171 of the 218 aircraft of this model in service are affected by the flight suspension ordered Saturday by the agency. On Monday, the United company, which owns the first fleet of 737 MAX 9s in the world (79 aircraft), indicated that it had discovered “bolts that needed to be tightened” during checks on the condemned doors of its 737 MAX 9, the same as the one torn off Friday during the Alaska Airlines flight. Locking certain doors is offered by Boeing to its customers when the number of existing emergency exits is already sufficient in relation to the number of seats in the aircraft. In addition to the 737 MAX 9, this device already exists on other Boeing models, notably the 737-900ER, launched in 2006 and which has not experienced any similar incidents since.
Also on Monday, Alaska Airlines also revealed that it had detected “poorly attached equipment” on some of its devices of this type, after preliminary inspections.
The FAA announced Tuesday, in a statement sent to Agence France-Presse, that “all Boeing 737-9s with an obstructed door [resteraient] on the ground as long as [l’agence] will not have established that they can be used again”. The regulator specified that Boeing had modified the instructions on Tuesday allowing the complete inspection of the door, frame and fasteners, after receiving feedback concerning the first instructions communicated on Monday. “Passenger safety, not speed [d’exécution des inspections]will determine the timetable for returning the 737 9 MAX to service »added the FAA.