WASHINGTON, Jan 9 — United Airlines said Monday it has found several instances of loose bolts holding down exit plugs on its fleet of Boeing 737 Max-9 aircraft similar to the one that blew off during an Alaska Airlines flight.
The airline said that after a preliminary investigation of its fleet of 79 Max 9s, it discovered that some of the refrigerator-sized panels, which are installed to plug optional exits in the plane’s fuselage, were improperly installed, reported United Press International (UPI).
“Since we began preliminary inspections on Saturday, we have found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug — for example, bolts that needed additional tightening,” United said in a statement issued to media outlets.
“These findings will be remedied by our Tech Ops team to safely return the aircraft to service,” it added.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a temporary grounding of certain 737 Max aircraft over the weekend following Friday’s incident in which Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 lost an exit plug on its rear fuselage shortly after taking off from Portland International Airport.
The blow-out caused a pressurisation problem and forced the aircraft to make an emergency landing. Passengers described hearing a loud boom, followed by a fierce gust of wind when the incident occurred. No one was seriously injured in the mishap.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is probing the incident. The agency announced Monday it has recovered the blown-out exit plug in Cedar Hills, Oregon, and will examine it at the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington, D.C.
The Federal Aviation Administration, meanwhile, assured the flying public it would not allow the affected aircraft to return to the sky until the issue is resolved.
— Bernama
