PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A Boeing jetliner that exploded over Oregon was forced to skip flights to Hawaii after warning lights that could indicate a pressurization problem came on on three different flights. It was not used, federal officials said Sunday.
Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said Alaska Airlines was forcing the plane to fly for extended periods over water so it could “get back to the airport very quickly” if the warning lights came back on. He said he had decided to restrict it.
Homendy said the pressurized ramp may be unrelated to Friday’s incident in which a plug covering an unused exit door was blown off a Boeing 737 Max 9 during a cruise about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) over Oregon. I was warned that there would be.
The warning light came on during three previous flights, on December 7, January 3, and January 4, the day before the door plug broke. Homendy said he did not have all the details about the Dec. 7 accident, but said the lights came on during the flight on Jan. 3 and again on Jan. 4 after the plane landed.
According to the NTSB, the missing door plug was discovered Sunday near Portland, Oregon, by a school teacher, known only as Bob, who found it in his backyard and gave two copies to the safety board. He announced that he had sent a photo of Investigators will examine how the plug, which measures 26 by 48 inches (66 by 121 centimeters) and weighs 63 pounds (28.5 kilograms), escaped.
Investigators have no benefit in hearing what was going on in the cockpit during the flight. Homendy said the cockpit’s voice recorder, one of two so-called black boxes, recorded the sound of the flight two hours later.
At a press conference Sunday night, Homendy revealed new details about the chaotic scene that unfolded on the plane. The explosive air rush damaged several rows of seats and tore insulation from the walls. The cockpit door swung open and slammed into the toilet door.
Troops ripped the headset off the co-pilot, and the captain lost part of his headset. Homendy said a quick reference checklist was placed within easy reach of the pilot and popped out of the open cockpit.
However, the plane returned to Portland with no serious injuries to the 171 passengers and six crew members.
Hours after the incident, the FAA ordered 171 of the 218 Max 9 planes in service grounded, including all planes used by Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, until they could be inspected. The airline said Sunday it was still waiting for details on how it would test.
Alaska Airlines, with 65 Max 9s, and United Airlines, with 79, are the only U.S. airlines operating specific models of Boeing’s flagship 737 aircraft. United Airlines said it was waiting for Boeing to issue a “multi-operator message.” A service bulletin used when multiple airlines need to perform similar work on a particular type of airplane.
Boeing was working on a bulletin but had not yet submitted it to the FAA for review and approval, according to people familiar with the matter. Detailed technical bulletins often take several days to produce, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the company and regulators do not discuss the matter publicly.
Boeing declined to comment.
Both airlines started seeing more cancellations as some planes were cancelled. Alaska Airlines said it had canceled 170 flights, more than a fifth of its schedule, by mid-afternoon on the West Coast due to the grounding, while United Airlines said it had scrapped about 180 flights and replaced others in search of other planes. It was announced that the flight had been rescued.
Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, said she agreed with the decision to ground the Max 9.
“Aviation production must meet gold standards, including quality control inspections and strong FAA oversight,” he said in a statement.
Before the missing plug was discovered, the NTSB was pleading with residents in an area west of Portland called Cedar Hills to be on the lookout for the object.
On Sunday, people scoured the dense brush wedged between a busy road and a light rail station. Adam Pirkle said he rode his bike 14 miles (22 kilometers) through the thick grass.
“I was watching the flight trajectory and watching the wind,” he said. “I’ve been trying to focus on woodland areas.”
Before a schoolteacher named Bob found the missing door plug, searchers found two mobile phones believed to belong to passengers on Friday’s horrifying plane. One was found in the garden and the other on the side of the road. Both were turned over to the NTSB, which promised to return them to their owners.
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 took off from Portland on Friday at 5:07 p.m., embarking on a two-hour journey to Ontario, California. About six minutes later, as the plane was climbing at about 16,000 feet (4.8 km), a chunk of its fuselage was blown off.
one of the pilots declared a state of emergency He requested permission to descend to 10,000 feet (3 kilometers), where there is enough air for passengers to breathe without oxygen masks.
A video posted online by a passenger showed a large hole where the paneled door used to be. They applauded when the plane landed safely, about 13 minutes after the explosion. Firefighters came to the aisle and asked passengers to remain seated while they treated the injured.
Homendy said it was very fortunate that the plane had not yet reached cruising altitude and passengers and flight attendants could have been walking around on board.
The aircraft involved came off the assembly line and was certified two months ago, officials said. Online FAA records. Flight Radar 24, another tracking service, says it has operated 145 flights since it began commercial operations on Nov. 11. The flight from Portland was the third plane of the day.
The Max is the latest version of Boeing’s venerable 737, a twin-engine, single-aisle aircraft frequently used on U.S. domestic flights. This plane entered service in May 2017.
Two Max 8 jets crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. All Max 8 and Max 9 airplanes are grounded all over the world It lasted almost two years until Boeing made changes to the automatic flight control system that were involved in the crash.
The Max has also been plagued by other problems, including manufacturing defects and overheating concerns that the FAA told pilots to avoid. restrict use Possibilities of anti-icing systems loose bolt with the rudder system.
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Koenig reported from Dallas. Associated Press writer Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed to this report.