Shortly after an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 took off from Portland, Oregon, on the 5th, an escape door in the rear cabin fell off in the air and it made an emergency landing. Fortunately, no one of the 180 crew members was injured. On the 6th, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered the temporary grounding of Boeing 737 MAX 9 passenger aircraft operated by American Airlines or within the United States to conduct safety inspections of the aircraft. Subsequently, the European Aviation Safety Agency decided to take the same measures.
Terror in the air
Alaska Airlines said in a statement that the Boeing 737 MAX 9 took off from Portland, Oregon, at 17:06 local time and was originally scheduled to fly to Ontario, California. Flight number 1282 was carrying 174 passengers. and 6 crew members.
Information from the U.S. flight tracking website shows that the passenger plane turned back 6 minutes after takeoff and landed at the departure airport 20 minutes later, during which time it reached a maximum altitude of 4,976 meters.
According to the “24-Hour Flight Radar” website, footage taken from the outside of the passenger plane showed that a door in the rear section of the cabin that could be used as an emergency exit fell off. Photos taken by passengers circulating on social media showed that a port window and its surrounding panels “disappeared”, leaving a large hole, which looked like an “open door” aircraft.
Passenger Evan Smith experienced a frightening moment in the air. He told a local TV station: “We heard a loud bang from the back left side of the plane, and then heard the wind roaring. All the oxygen masks fell off and everyone put them on.”
Smith said that a mother and son were sitting in the seats next to the “hole”. The boy’s shirt was torn by the strong wind and sucked out of the hatch. Some media also said that some passengers’ mobile phones were sucked out of the cabin.
The “24 Hours Flight Radar” website stated that the door that fell down from the passenger plane involved was located at the rear of the wing and could be used as an alternative door for emergency evacuation when the seats were densely packed. However, this door of the aircraft involved was The hatch is permanently sealed. Reuters reported that such doors on Alaska Airlines’ passenger planes are permanently “inactive.”
Federal Aviation Administration records show the plane rolled off the assembly line and was certified just over two months ago. Information on the “24-Hour Flight Radar” website shows that the passenger plane involved started commercial flights on November 11 last year and has flown 145 flights, including two on the day of the incident.
temporarily grounded
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ordered the temporary grounding of Boeing 737 MAX 9 passenger aircraft operated by American Airlines or within the United States on the 6th. This emergency airworthiness directive will affect approximately 171 aircraft. Operators must comply with the regulations before resuming flights. The directive provides for inspections of aircraft. According to statistics, the American Boeing Company has delivered 218 737 MAX 9 passenger aircraft worldwide.
Boeing issued a statement on the 6th stating that it supports the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to require immediate safety inspections of the 737 MAX 9 model with the same configuration as the accident aircraft.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board sent personnel to Portland on the 6th to investigate the accident.
After the US Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary grounding order, the European Aviation Safety Agency decided to take the same measure. The British aviation safety regulator also requires operators of Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft to comply with grounding and inspection orders from the US Federal Aviation Administration before they enter British airspace.
In October 2018 and March 2019, Indonesian Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines flights suffered air crashes respectively, killing a total of 346 people. The crashed aircraft were both Boeing 737 MAX 8 passenger aircraft. The Boeing 737 MAX passenger plane was subsequently grounded in many countries and regions around the world for nearly two years.Comprehensive Xinhua News Agency
#Daily #News #Digital #Newspaper #PlatformThe #United #States #Europe #temporarily #ground #Boeing #MAX #passenger #aircraft
2024-01-07 15:56:21
