Alaska Airlines flight forced to make an emergency landing... 82

[dik]

Other than fatigue issues or something. I cannot see how the connection could fail if the bolt were installed with the castellated nut and the cotter pin. Even 'loose and wobbly' the parts would be contained. The connection was likely just missed. Are there other connections that were simply missed?

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[thebard3]

...and the hits just keep on coming.
Link
I can't say I'd be comfortable buying more jets from them either, especially MAXes.

Brad Waybright

The more you know, the more you know you don't know.

 

[ctopher]

I also worked at McD then Boeing. Unlike most people I was not surprised when this incident happened.
When Boeing bought McD, most of us were laid off. Everything we built was outsourced. A lot of parts we manufactured should have been re-inspected when outsourced, but weren't to cut cost. Boeing is now just a final assy company.

Chris, CSWP
SolidWorks
ctophers home

 

[SWComposites]

Nope, McD bought Boeing with Boeing's money; the St Louis mgmt tong took over. I was also there; left a couple of years later. I don't think their has been a single major Boeing program since the "merger" that has been delivered on time, commercial or military. And Boeing's "Partnership for Success" program for suppliers really meant "we are going to demand 20% cost reductions every year in an attempt to suck all of the profits out of you".

 

[Murph 9000]

If United split with Boeing, that's quite significant for their corporate history, as their name comes from William Boeing's United Aircraft and Transport Corporation, before the government forced the company to split up. Once upon a time, they were both part of the same corporate structure.

 

[3DDave]

Boeing put plenty of planes into the ground before McD. No aircraft maker has been on time or on budget, commercial or military, in the last 50 years or so.

Having been "merged" using the company as collateral by a smaller buyer, I understand the feeling of hatred as "cash flow" becomes a mantra. We had one "president" who fired the marketing department and then was surprised when contracts were drying up over his cost saving measure.

It becomes a toxin where middle managers who are realistic are selected out of the process and those who lie and blame subordinates for failure become prized as they are explaining the failure in the way top management can accept.

I was with McD for a year; most memorable was the number of people who noted that Old Man Mac frequently was on the factory floor, something Sanford never did. It's a shame the modern management doesn't include that as a requirement. Instead they manage investor expectations.

 

[debodine]

Just now received the FAA SAFO about the door plug. I quote the recommended action here from the SAFO.

"Recommended Action: Operators are encouraged to conduct a visual inspection to ensure the door
plug is restrained from any movements through the two (2) upper guide track bolts and two (2) lower
arrestor bolts. Please refer to the Aircraft Maintenance Manual and 737-900ER Fuselage Plug Assembly
Maintenance Planning Document (MPD) for more information, regardless of if this inspection has been
conducted under the existing maintenance program prior to the EAD."

In the SAFO, the EAD is defined as the Emergency AD number 2024-02-51. The SAFO goes on to encourage operators to report findings to their Certificate Management Office (CMO).

 

[ctopher]

I saw Old Man Mac once. Didn't meet him, but watched him walk through.
I remember the big problems we had with the MD-11. I witnessed an engine drop once. It was too heavy for the overhead cranes. Was loud.

Chris, CSWP
SolidWorks
ctophers home

 

[3DDave]

My favorite McD memory was when the first space shuttle re-entered the atmosphere. They piped the NASA feed to the company wide speakers. It was such a thrill to hear the shuttle crew, coming out of the radio black-out period, announce they were over Hawaii and going Mach 40 while surrounded by a bunch of F-15 aerodynamic support engineers. It's a glider going nearly 20 times as fast as an air superiority fighter; sure, not particularly maneuverable, but at Mach 40 it doesn't have to be.

The expense of stopping the entire company for roughly 10 minutes for an event that was of interest to aviation enthusiasts was apparently worth it. Aviation wasn't just a business, it was a passion.

 

[waross]

I once went to work for a company that had recently had some new people buy in.
The new manager was extremely difficult to work for and impossible to work with.
I finally quit in frustration.
Time and again I would design a first rate and most economical electrical plan only to have it overridden by the manager with a second rate and more expensive plan.
His hubris was immense.
I felt bad about quitting and not sticking it out.
But I was just the first.
Within a year, everyone in the office who I had respect for had left.
This included the original owner and founder.
The word that I heard was that one day, the founder walked into the manager's office and said;
"I can't work with you, you SOB. I'm out of here. Have your lawyer contact my lawyer and buy me out."

--------------------
Ohm's law
Not just a good idea;
It's the LAW!

 

[Sparweb]

The expense of stopping the entire company for roughly 10 minutes for an event that was of interest to aviation enthusiasts was apparently worth it. Aviation wasn't just a business, it was a passion.

Many of us still think it's cool. Where I worked in 2018, everybody stopped for about 1/2 hour to watch the Spacex boosters launch up, and make the simultaneous pinpoint landings. Some stayed to watch the red car drift away, but for many like me, it was the first double-landing that we won't forget.

 

[JohnRBaker]

I met Sanford a couple of times, but that was when I was working for McAuto (McDonnell Douglas Automation) back in the 80's selling software, and we'd bring big customers to Saint Louis (I was working in California) to meet with the executives and to give them a tour of the 'bomber foundry', as we called it. Back in those days it was impressive when you could stand in one location in final assembly and see F-15's, F-18's and AV8B's, all at once. And if it happened to be a 'delivery day', we'd sometimes manage to watch some of the jets being flown out by military flight crews. And of course, since we had customers with us, we'd get to eat lunch in the executive dining room, with their well dressed waiters, and lets not forget, the cinnamon ice cream. Ah yes, those were the days...

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[JohnRBaker]

This doesn't sound good:

Alaska Airlines CEO: We found 'many' loose bolts on our Max 9 planes following near-disaster

"I'm angry," Ben Minicucci said. "This happened to Alaska Airlines. It happened to our guests and happened to our people."

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/rcna135316

An excerpt from the above item:

The CEO of Alaska Airlines said new, in-house inspections of the carrier's Boeing 737 Max 9 planes in the wake of a near-disaster earlier this month revealed that “many” of the aircraft were found to have loose bolts.

In an exclusive interview with NBC News senior correspondent Tom Costello, Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci discussed the findings of his company's inspections so far since the Jan. 5 incident, in which a panel on one of its Max 9 jets blew out midair on a flight carrying 177 people.

“I’m more than frustrated and disappointed,” he said. “I am angry. This happened to Alaska Airlines. It happened to our guests and happened to our people. And — my demand on Boeing is what are they going to do to improve their quality programs in-house.”

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[dik]

additional news...

"Two U.S. airlines have said they may abandon plans to buy more Boeing 737 MAX planes, a flashing red warning light for the aviation giant as it tries to quell its latest safety crisis.

The CEOs of United Airlines and Alaska Airlines both said Tuesday that they can’t necessarily count on the plane-maker for future orders, less than three weeks after a door panel blew off mid-air during an Alaska flight over Portland, Oregon.

Neither airline is canceling any orders yet, though United said it’s mulling removing another 737 model — the larger MAX 10 — from its fleet plans."

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/23/boeing-woes-737-abandon-00137349

-----*****-----
So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

My CEO is seen a fair bit by us lot. He has weekly CEO briefs. With open question sessions. I don't know how he does it to be honest, the questions he is asked.

He is also in the jumpseat when flying somewhere unless he is traveling with others. Puts the fear of god up the new First Officers.

He also fly's the aircraft occasionally. I have been in the sim with him. A particularly problematic airport for us crew got new ground handlers after one sector by him.

The story I like is they changed the paper cockpit coffee cups to some thin things with the structural integrity of a folded printer paper cup. Juggling act to make sure you didn't spill it before you burnt your fingers.

He got served a coffee in the new ones and just said what's this crap in my cockpits. Next day new cups turned up better than the old ones with thermal holding strip and you can basically use all day if your that way inclined which most of us are, just stick your initials on it and give it a rinse with the tea water tap.

He is also extremely hot making sure the technicians have what they need. Also its the only airline I have worked for that the majority of the technicians work at night when the aircraft are not flying. We only have line technicians during the day. The heavy maint run a day and night shift 4 days on 4 days off.

Some don't appreciate seeing him, and others don't like that he gets to know what's really happening at the coal face. He claims he doesn't deal with things that he hears about or see's, but things get changed relatively quickly if you make a comment on a subject that's valid. We had been bitching about the problematic airport for months, he did one turn round... he had requested to fly that flight after comments by one of the cabin crew.

 

[Alistair_Heaton]

BTW the statements about dumping Boeing are just management chat for the media.

Airbus just doesn't have the production capacity to serve them in the next decade.

The 10% import tariff makes them expensive to boot.

 

[Murph 9000]

Delta have stepped up to claim their share of the media storm. The mainstream press are jumping all over the opportunity to bash Boeing a bit more, conflating it with the door plug, although this one seems likely beyond their control.

A Delta 757-200 lost a nose wheel while lining up for takeoff, with the wheel apparently rolling off the runway and down an embankment.

Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 Nose Wheel Detaches On Runway In Atlanta

 

[1503-44]

Good thing they have two. Being it was built 30yrs ago in 1992, it was not affected by current production issues, so there is no doubt the extra wheel was provided as an abundance of caution.

I had no idea that 30yr old aircraft were in anything other than cargo service. Back in the day, something 30yrs old would have been a red and white Southern Air Transport DC4 at a 2 hanger little field 50 miles out of town providing much needed shade for gophers.


--Einstein gave the same test to students every year. When asked why he would do something like that, "Because the answers had changed."

 

[thebard3]

I think the government still has some for VIP transport

Brad Waybright

The more you know, the more you know you don't know.

 

[3DDave]

Two things remove wheels - maintainers not putting the fasteners correctly or the brakes dragging; it's not common to have nose-wheel brakes.

OTOH Airbus has perfected grinding the nosewheels off the planes along with large portions of the axles. They have made a large number of unsuccessful attempts to guarantee the wheels are aligned with the runway when the planes land.