Following a scary event on an Alaska Airlines Boeing which resulted in a rapid depressurization inside the plane, United Airlines inspected its fleet of the same jets. United Airlines found “loose bolts and other parts on 737 Max 9 plug doors” reports The Air Current.
United confirmed the findings in a statement, saying, “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. These findings will be remedied by our Tech Ops team to safely return the aircraft to service.”
The discrepant bolts and other parts on the plug doors have been found on at least five aircraft, one of the people told The Air Current.
Later Monday, Alaska Airlines confirmed it, too, had found issues with the plug doors on its grounded jets. “As our maintenance technicians began preparing our 737-9 Max fleet for inspections, they accessed the area in question. Initial reports from our technicians indicate some loose hardware was visible on some aircraft,” the company wrote.
BREAKING: United has found loose bolts and other parts on 737 Max 9 plug doors as it inspects its fleet of Boeing jets following the rapid depressurization aboard an Alaska jet, according to three people familiar with the findings. https://t.co/pcPx9I8Z0l (via @theaircurrent)
— Jon Ostrower (@jonostrower) January 8, 2024
According to documents reviewed by The Air Current, there was little consistency in the locations of the problematic parts in the five United aircraft. In one instance, United found that the bolts that affix the lower hinge of the plug door were not fully seated, and that the washers on the bolts could “spin”.
Another aircraft was found to have loose bolts on the upper forward guide fitting on the plug and another on the forward guide roller that is an attachment point to the fuselage on the door frame. Additionally, screws that are part of the lower hinge bracket at the bottom of the plug on another aircraft were found to not be fully screwed in.
The Air Current reports that the findings aboard the five United aircraft will likely significantly widen the fall-out from the grounding, intensifying the focus on Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems. The pair together is responsible for the assembly, installation and quality checks of the aircraft structure.
