(RFI) Following an incident with Alaska Airlines’ Boeing 737 Max 9, which lost a door during a trip in the United States last Friday (5), the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) suspended the aircraft’s flights in Brazil on Sunday (7). With a history of problems, including two fatal accidents, the model causes apprehension among passengers and headaches for Boeing itself and the airlines that operate with the aircraft.
The incident led to the suspension of Boeing 737 Max 9 flights in both the United States and Brazil and the cancellation of dozens of flights around the world. ANAC followed the FAA’s recommendation that airlines suspend flights and immediately inspect all aircraft of this model.
When contacted, the Brazilian agency said in a statement that the only airline operating the aircraft in the country is Copa Airlines, on international flights to and from Guarulhos Airport in São Paulo.
“The airline has already announced the suspension of activities with the aircraft for the necessary technical review until it is cleared to return to service,” said ANAC. “The company is working to minimize the impact on passengers and ANAC is monitoring this process,” it added.
For flight captain François Grangier, honorary president of the Court of Cassation’s group of licensed experts, heard by FranceInfo, it is up to Boeing to decide whether the incident poses a risk to the rest of the fleet.
“Even so, it’s always good to take a measure of protection and prevention. So if these airlines want to stop their planes, they can. That said, it’s up to the manufacturer to decide whether the event in question represents a major risk. It’s possible, but we can also imagine that it’s a one-off problem,” he said.
Grangier also believes that the incident must not affect confidence in the manufacturer. Boeing is the world’s largest aerospace company, with operations in 150 countries and revenues of $58.2 billion in 2020.
“We can’t question an institution following an accident, or even several accidents. Boeing is a serious company. I assume it will take the appropriate measures. Today, a company of this size and reputation cannot afford to hide something or take risks. Especially since, after the problems with the airplane’s stall protection system some time ago, Boeing was in economic difficulties. Today, hiding a major problem would mean going out of business,” he said.
In Europe
Despite the authorities’ response and the fact that the incident in the US left no victims, many passengers are beginning to have doubts about the quality of the aircraft, especially given the model’s history.
French newspaper Le Fígaro published an article on Monday pointing out all the companies that use 737 Max 9 aircraft and what passengers should do if they want to give up flying on the aircraft. According to the newspaper, few airlines in Europe have the model in their fleets and there are only 1,400 Boeing 737s flying around the world (220 Max 9s).
“If this Boeing flagship is so widely distributed around the world that it has long remained the best-selling commercial airliner in history, its fourth generation, known as the ‘Max’, appears to be a cursed aircraft for the American manufacturer,” said the daily.
In Europe, only Ryanair, which has 84 Max 8 aircraft, Norwegian, with 18 Max 8s, and Icelandair, with four Max 9s, operate the aircraft in all versions combined.
According to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), no operator in Europe is currently using the 737 Max 9. Turkish Airlines, which has five planes, has withdrawn the aircraft from circulation “for verification as a precautionary measure”.
The newspaper also points out that passengers who have booked flights on aircraft of this model should wait for the companies to reschedule their trips, since “fear of flying” on the 737 Max 9 is not among the reasons for cancellation with a full refund, excluding taxes.
Door found
The door of the Alaska Airlines plane, which separated from the fuselage shortly after take-off on Friday (5), has been found, the US aviation authorities announced, which should help to understand the cause of this incident.
“I’m happy to report that we found the door,” said Jennifer Homendy, president of the US transportation safety agency, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), at a press conference.
A teacher recovered the metal plate in his backyard in Portland, Oregon. “He took a picture. In the photos I can only see the outside of the door, the white parts. We can’t see anything else, but we’re going to take it and start analyzing it,” said the NTSB official.
This is a blocked door hidden by a partition, a configuration offered by Boeing to customers who request it. These models have “the middle door blocked”, according to the FAA directive published on its website.
The aircraft, which was carrying 171 passengers and six crew members, was at an altitude of almost 5,000 meters and had to return to Portland for an emergency landing. One passenger suffered minor injuries.
“It was really brutal. We barely reached altitude and the window panel came off,” a passenger on the flight, Kyle Rinker, told US channel CNN.
Note from Boeing
The company said it is seeking more information from Alaska Airlines and that a technical team is at the disposal of the authorities to support the investigations. In a statement, Boeing also agreed with the FAA’s decision to halt fleets using the aircraft model for inspections.
“Safety is our top priority and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers,” said the US manufacturer.
History of tragedies
Before the incident with Alaska Airlines, the model had already been the protagonist of other crises for Boeing. In 2018 and 2019, there were two accidents involving Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft that killed 346 people. The first in Jakarta, Indonesia, which crashed into the Java Sea minutes after taking off with 189 people. And the second, operated by Ethiopian Airlines, crashed immediately after take-off from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people on board.
Following the two tragedies, use of the model was halted for a year and a half in 2019 for inspections. At the time, more than 40 countries suspended operations with the Boeing 737 Max until the cause of the tragedies was determined. China, on the other hand, permanently suspended the use of the aircraft after the two accidents.
In May 2019, Boeing acknowledged defects in the aircraft’s flight simulator software for the first time. Recently, the company reported that it had managed to resolve a quality issue with one of its suppliers, which had forced it to carry out lengthy inspections on its new 737 Max. However, last month, the FAA asked airlines to inspect their Max models to investigate a possible loose screw in the rudder control systems.
In recent months, Boeing has had to slow down deliveries of the aircraft due to problems with the fuselage, particularly at the rear. Even so, by the end of December, the manufacturer had delivered more than 1,370 737 MAXs and its order book exceeded 4,000 units.
*** Translated by DEFCONPress FYI team ***