Federal officials investigating the midflight blowout of an Alaska Airlines aircraft’s fuselage have found the lost piece, a refrigerator-sized Boeing 737 MAX 9 fuselage door plug.
The investigation is complicated by the loss of critical cockpit audio recordings due to a device setting.
The plane had experienced repeated pressurization alerts prior to the incident, and questions remain about the warnings and the aircraft’s safety. (Trending: U.S. State Passes Personal Pronoun Ban)
Cockpit Voice Recorder On Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 Was Erased https://t.co/CJmCBLb6DL
— Forbes (@Forbes) January 9, 2024
National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said, “(The blowout) was a described to us by the flight crew that it was a very violent, explosive event when it occurred, and you can see that from inside the aircraft.”
“We were able to inspect to the airframe itself from the exterior and found absolutely no structural damage to the airplane,” she continued. “It must have been truly terrifying,” said Homendy.
“Our focus right now is on this aircraft to determine what happened, how it happened and to prevent it from happening again. Once we determine that we can see if there’s a greater concern that we want to issue an urgent safety recommendation for,” he continued.
What Are They Hiding?
NTSB official Jennifer Homendy Says Cockpit Voice Recorder in the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 Jet that lost it’s door plug was “COMPLETELY OVERWRITTEN”
WATCH: pic.twitter.com/uxolBXcdgO
— Anthony Scott (@AnthonyScottTGP) January 8, 2024
“We are grateful the Alaska Airlines crew performed the appropriate procedures to land the airplane with all passengers and crew safe,” said the official. “At Spirit AeroSystems, our primary focus is the quality and product integrity of the aircraft structures we deliver,” they claimed.
The airline had restricted the aircraft from flying over the ocean after the auto pressurization fail light came on three times in the past month.
The impact caused damage to the interior, but there was no structural damage to the aircraft. The cockpit voice recorder was overwritten, leading to a loss of critical communication records.
The NTSB chief emphasized the importance of extending cockpit voice recordings to 25 hours for all aircraft.
Additionally, two cell phones likely flung from the plane have been found and turned in to investigators.
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