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737Max: Boy sitting in row 26 had his t-shirt sucked off him while his mother was holding on to him - Alaska Airlines flight B39M

sono

Member

An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX, registration N704AL performing flight AS-1282 from Portland,OR to Ontario,CA (USA) with 171 passengers and 6 crew, was climbing out of Portland's runway 28L when one of the cabin windows/emergency exits and its holding panel as well as parts of one un-occupied seat (seat row 26) separated from the aircraft, the passenger oxygen masks were released. The crew donned their oxygen masks, stopped the climb at about 16,000 feet, declared emergency reporting depressurization of the aircraft in a very noisy transmission, initiated an emergency descent to 10,000 feet and returned to Portland for a safe landing on runway 28L about 20 minutes after departure. No injuries are being reported. An emergency exit and whole panel at the left hand side of the aircraft was missing.

The NTSB have opened an investigation into the occurrence.

Passengers reported a boy sitting in row 26 had his t-shirt sucked off him while his mother was holding on to him to prevent him being sucked out, too. Several phones were sucked out as well.



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Further information:



The FAA have already issued an emergency AD:

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Soodanim

Member
Saw this on the news this morning.

I'm glad everyone is safe, but the sad part is I'm not surprised. All I ever hear is that airline manufacturers are cutting costs.

"Statistically the safest way to travel" might not mean as much is things aren't kept in check. How on Earth does a door fly off? My first guess is improper maintenance.
 

Cyberpunkd

Member
Saw this on the news this morning.

I'm glad everyone is safe, but the sad part is I'm not surprised. All I ever hear is that airline manufacturers are cutting costs.

"Statistically the safest way to travel" might not mean as much is things aren't kept in check. How on Earth does a door fly off? My first guess is improper maintenance.
Look at it the other way - a door flies out, pilot still manages to land the plane.
 

Daneel Elijah

Gold Member
Saw this on the news this morning.

I'm glad everyone is safe, but the sad part is I'm not surprised. All I ever hear is that airline manufacturers are cutting costs.

"Statistically the safest way to travel" might not mean as much is things aren't kept in check. How on Earth does a door fly off? My first guess is improper maintenance.
The plane is almost new, it was taken by the airline in November 2023 if I remember right. The door is not a "normal" door, but one used if you want to have more passengers. So it should be close all the time and is hidden in those cases.
More bad news for Boeing. My friend is a flight test engineer there...
I looked a few times at the Boeing subreddit. And oh god how the feeling is desperate there. Boeing is in deep shit and they really don't respect their workforce. Always people posting questions about retirement, how much they can make in the job, other benefits... Crazy when most brands subreddit are about the brand, not HR complaints and questions. I am happy as most Europeans are about Airbus success, but Boeing is still a major and inevitable part of air travel, and millions are using it every day to visit the world. They really need to get better fast.
 

jufonuk

not tag worthy
More bad news for Boeing. My friend is a flight test engineer there...
I fly ryanair a lot. I know they are cheap but I hope/think they don’t skimp on plane safety.

Was this more a case of the plane or the carrier ?
 
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I've started looking at what plane is attached to which flight in recent years. I prefer flights with Airbus planes if possible, but at the very least I avoid any flights on 737 MAX planes.

Unfortunately my preferred airline when flying domestically has long been Southwest and that will no longer be possible in a few years as Southwest has committed to replacing their entire fleet with 737 MAX sometime in the future.
 

QSD

Member
Right below the OP is an ad for a nice warm winter jacket over here LOL.

Poor kid, what a nightmare
 

Doom85

Member
That kid is traumatized for life, he ain't flying ever again. Wouldn't blame him if he didn't.

I hope he and his parents (and any other passengers affected) get a huge settlement for this. One or more people not doing their job and/or not giving such important equipment the budget it needs, etc. and now this kid and those near him likely never forget this experience. Obviously it’s a blessing no one died or was hurt, but still a fucked up situation.
 

Tams

Member
I love flying, but I ain't going on a 737 MAX ever. Thankfully, in Europe many airlines use Airbus aircraft, so the odds of a a flight being a MAX are far lower.

I fly ryanair a lot. I know they are cheap but I hope/think they don’t skimp on plane safety.

Was this more a case of the plane or the carrier ?

This is a new plane. It's all on Boeing.
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
It's probably an issue with Boeing. There have been many reports of lack of build quality in recent planes, and this is just the most recent example.
Why? They lived due to the safety features of the aircraft, the smooth functioning of emergency equipment, and the well trained prompt response of the pilot and crew.

The idea that "any shit happens, better be a payday for me!" is idiotic. I'm sure the airline will accommodate any reasonable recuperation requests, but the notion they should somehow set for life just because they lived through a mishap seems foolish to me. Now obviously if this turns out to be a malicious act of gross negligence that may be another story, but that applies to all the passengers, not just those in proximity IMHO.
 

winjer

Gold Member
Why? They lived due to the safety features of the aircraft, the smooth functioning of emergency equipment, and the well trained prompt response of the pilot and crew.

The idea that "any shit happens, better be a payday for me!" is idiotic. I'm sure the airline will accommodate any reasonable recuperation requests, but the notion they should somehow set for life just because they lived through a mishap seems foolish to me. Now obviously if this turns out to be a malicious act of gross negligence that may be another story, but that applies to all the passengers, not just those in proximity IMHO.

What are you on about? The issues with Boeing are well reported. And even the FAA called an immediate grounding of all 737 Max.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
I am curious to know what the regulation around aircraft construction in the USA is, and if had been changed at all in the last 10 years.
 
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Bitmap Frogs

Mr. Community
Yesterday they also applied for a safety exemption on the 737 max... not looking good.


"Boeing is asking federal regulators to exempt a new model of its 737 Max airliner from a safety standard designed to prevent part of the engine housing from overheating and breaking off during flight."
 

M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
If its Boeing, I ain't going.

No seriously, fuck those planes, especially Max(es). I also loves how it expose USA as a country unable to do anything with people who are rich and powerful. If they don't ground it forever, McDonell Douglas will kill more people*.

*Boeing built good planes, before the merger with McDonell Douglas (which famously built death traps like DC-10/MD-11). In that merger, exec from McDonell Douglas took leadership. And shit went south.
 

dave_d

Member
If its Boeing, I ain't going.

No seriously, fuck those planes, especially Max(es). I also loves how it expose USA as a country unable to do anything with people who are rich and powerful. If they don't ground it forever, McDonell Douglas will kill more people*.

*Boeing built good planes, before the merger with McDonell Douglas (which famously built death traps like DC-10/MD-11). In that merger, exec from McDonell Douglas took leadership. And shit went south.
Just to chime in here when I was a kid in the 70s/80s the DC-10 did have a reputation as being a plane that crashed a lot. (It seemed like half the time there was a plane crash it was a DC-10.) Of course back then Boeing was actually known for being good at their jobs.
 

M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
Just to chime in here when I was a kid in the 70s/80s the DC-10 did have a reputation as being a plane that crashed a lot. (It seemed like half the time there was a plane crash it was a DC-10.) Of course back then Boeing was actually known for being good at their jobs.
Yes merger happened in 90's, precisely 1. August 1997, so after first 777 took to the skies, that plane is still solid.
 

HoodWinked

Member
3ea400edef31849a902bf45f8193e299


01062024_plane-damage_182744.jpg


Considering how cleanly it came off maybe it wasn't bolted in properly. also what forces would even cause this to happen, is fuselage pressure that much higher than the outside the plug door would pop off.
 

Blade2.0

Member
3ea400edef31849a902bf45f8193e299


01062024_plane-damage_182744.jpg


Considering how cleanly it came off maybe it wasn't bolted in properly. also what forces would even cause this to happen, is fuselage pressure that much higher than the outside the plug door would pop off.
I almost feel like I can see the design flaw myself.the holes where the bolts go don't seem to have anything in front of them structurally. So I bet the wind pressure just stripped all the bolts clean off the holes.


I'm no design expert or anything but that's my bet on the issue here.
 

HoodWinked

Member
found this video talks about locking bolts and some other details about these mid cabin doors. so there are different door options and this likely was a non service door but can be opened for maintenance.

 
Just to chime in here when I was a kid in the 70s/80s the DC-10 did have a reputation as being a plane that crashed a lot. (It seemed like half the time there was a plane crash it was a DC-10.) Of course back then Boeing was actually known for being good at their jobs.

Yeah DC-10 doesn't have a good record unforunately. Here in New Zealand there's a famous crash in Antarctica on Mount Erebus involving a DC-10 Air New Zealand plane. Plane literally flew into the side of a mountain killing everyone on board. The wreckage is still there in Antarctica today and Air New Zealand stopped all tourist flights to that place. Very sad story and only recenlty learned of this tragedy having worked at Air New Zealand for 4 years now.

We still have a yearly rememberence gathering on the 23rd of every November for the victims. One thing that still haunts me is the police recounts of the crash site and the effort in recovering the bodies. Its nightmare fuel.

Sorry to go off topic here but thankfully nothing serious happened in this case.
 
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