The CEO of the American airline Alaska Airlines announced on Tuesday that during an inspection many loosely fastened screws were found on his company’s Boeing 737 Max 9 planes. The discovery follows an incident in early January, when a window panel on one of these Alaska Airlines planes blew off during flight.
The plane then made an emergency landing in the state of Oregon and no one was injured. In images that spread like wildfire on social media, a plane without window panels could be seen, with emergency oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched an inspection that banned 40 aircraft from taking off until they passed a safety inspection.
It was later revealed that the problem that caused the particular crash was poorly secured screws connecting the plane’s panels.
Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci told BNC News he was angry with Boeing because his company’s other planes of the same model were also found to have many loose screws. Minicucci is asking the aircraft manufacturer for intervention and in the future his company may no longer purchase planes from Boeing, reports The Telegraph.
“I’m angry. This happened to Alaska Airlines. This happened to our guests and our staff. And my request to Boeing is that they take action to improve their internal quality control,” Minicucci said.
A Boeing representative apologized to its customers on NBC and promised that plane safety would be improved,
“We are launching a comprehensive plan to safely return these aircraft to service and improve our quality. We will follow FAA guidelines and support our customers every step of the way,” he added.
2024-01-24 05:18:00
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