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Tag: Alaska Airlines

  • New issue at Boeing supplier might delay deliveries of 737s

    New issue at Boeing supplier might delay deliveries of 737s

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    Boeing reported another problem with fuselages on its 737 jets that might delay deliveries of about 50 aircraft in the latest quality gaffe to plague the manufacturer.

    Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal said in a letter to Boeing staff seen by CBS News Monday that a worker at its supplier discovered mis-drilled holes in fuselages. Spirit AeroSystems, based in Wichita, Kansas, makes a large part of the fuselages on Boeing Max jets.

    “While this potential condition is not an immediate safety issue and all 737s can continue operating safely, we currently believe we will have to perform rework on about 50 undelivered planes,” Deal said in the letter to employees shared with the media.

    “While this issue could delay some near-term 737 deliveries, this is the only course of action given our commitment to deliver perfect airplanes every time,” he added. “The days we are setting aside in the 737 program will allow time for our teams to complete the inspections and, if needed, perform the necessary rework.”

    The problem was discovered by an employee of the supplier of the fuselages who notified his manager that two holes might have not been drilled according to specifications, Deal said.

    Joe Buccino, a Spirit AeroSystems spokesperson, told CBS News, “We are aware of the non-conformance issue. Once we’ve determined the appropriate solution, we will implement repairs. We are in close communication with Boeing on this matter.”  

    Flying on a Boeing 737 Max 9? Here’s what to know.

    Both Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems are facing intense scrutiny over the quality of their work after an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 was forced to make an emergency landing on Jan. 5 when a panel called a door plug blew out of the side of the plane shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon.

    The NTSB is investigating the accident, while the Federal Aviation Administration investigates whether Boeing and its suppliers followed quality-control procedures.

    Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, the only other U.S. airline flying the Max 9, reported finding loose hardware in door plugs of other planes they inspected after the accident. The FAA grounded all Max 9s in the U.S. the day after the blowout. Two weeks later, the agency approved the inspection and maintenance process to return the planes to flying.

    Alaska Airlines and United Airlines have begun returning some to service.

    Boeing, based in Renton, Washington, said last week it was withdrawing a request for a safety exemption needed to certify a new, smaller model of the 737 Max airliner. Boeing asked federal regulators late last year to allow delivery of its 737 Max 7 airliner to customers even though it does not meet a safety standard designed to prevent part of the engine housing from overheating and breaking off during flight.

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  • Alaska Airlines has resumed flying Boeing 737 MAX 9, and United Airlines is set to follow suit

    Alaska Airlines has resumed flying Boeing 737 MAX 9, and United Airlines is set to follow suit

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    Alaska Airlines has begun flying Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners again since they were grounded after a panel blew out of the side of one of the airline’s planes.

    The airline said in a statement that it has completed its final inspection of their group of the aircraft. They said they resumed flying the Max 9 with a flight from Seattle to San Diego on Friday afternoon.

    On Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration approved the inspection and maintenance process to return the planes to flying. Technicians at Alaska began inspections that night, the airline said.

    The airline said they expect inspections to be completed by the end of next week, allowing the airline to operate a full flight schedule. Inspections are expected to take up to 12 hours per aircraft.

    “Each of our 737-9 MAX will return to service only after the rigorous inspections are completed and each plane is deemed airworthy according to FAA requirements,” the airline said in a written statement Friday.

    The first United passenger flight on a Boeing MAX 9 since the panel blew out on the Alaska Airlines flight departed from Newark, New Jersey, to Las Vegas Saturday morning. The flight carried 175 passengers and six crew members.

    Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Stan Deal said in a message to Boeing employees Friday that the company’s most immediate goal is to help airlines restore operations.

    “Our long-term focus is on improving our quality so that we can regain the confidence of our customers, our regulator and the flying public,” he wrote.

    “Frankly, we have disappointed and let them down. We are deeply sorry for the significant disruption and frustration for our customers, some of whom have been publicly and unfairly criticized,” he added.

    The Federal Aviation Administration has detailed the process that airlines must follow to inspect — and if necessary, repair — the panels called door plugs, one of which broke loose on Alaska Airlines flight 1282 on Jan. 5.

    The plugs are used to seal holes left for extra doors on the Max 9 when an unusually high number of seats requires more exits for safety reasons.

    Alaska Airlines grounded all 65 of its Max 9 jets within hours after one of the two door plugs in the back half of the cabin of flight 1282 blew away while 16,000 feet (about 4,900 meters) above Oregon. The FAA grounded all Max 9s in the U.S. the day after the blowout.

    No passengers were seriously injured.

    The Federal Aviation Administration recommended airlines inspect the door plugs on certain Boeing 737s that are older than the Max 9 jetliner that suffered a blowout of a similar panel during an Alaska Airlines flight this month.

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  • ‘Everything was rushing out’: Riverside couple describe harrowing midair blowout on Alaska Flight 1282

    ‘Everything was rushing out’: Riverside couple describe harrowing midair blowout on Alaska Flight 1282

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    Three weeks ago, retirees Joan and Gilbert Marin were traveling home to Riverside aboard a Boeing 737 Max 9 on Alaska Airlines. Suddenly, they heard a loud explosion and saw a gaping hole in the side of the plane two rows in front of them.

    “The wind, the noise, the roar,” said Joan Marin, 71. “Everything was rushing out.”

    Just ahead of the couple, a young man holding his cellphone had it sucked out of the plane, and the tremendous wind ripped the shirt off his back, she said. Joan’s husband looked down at their dog, Toby, who was in a carrier at his feet.

    “His eyes were bulging out,” said Gilbert, 74. He lunged to hold onto their 13-year-old dog, fearing the force from the blowout “was going to suck him right under the seat and everything.”

    This week, Federal Aviation Administration officials announced that Boeing 737 Max 9 planes would be allowed to fly again, following an inspection and maintenance process for the 171 aircraft grounded following the Jan. 5 flight. Most of those planes belong to Alaska Airlines and United Airlines.

    Alaska’s first Max 9 flight since the blowout departed Friday, landing in San Diego in the early evening.

    “Let me be clear: This won’t be back to business as usual for Boeing,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in a statement Wednesday.

    “The quality assurance issues we have seen are unacceptable,” he added. “That is why we will have more boots on the ground closely scrutinizing and monitoring production and manufacturing activities.”

    As airlines prepare to return planes to service, the National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the Flight 1282 midair cabin panel blowout is ongoing.

    “Our long-term focus is on improving our quality so that we can regain the confidence of our customers, our regulator and the flying public,” Stan Deal, Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and chief executive, wrote in a message to employees Friday evening. “Frankly, we have disappointed and let them down.”

    Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 passengers Gilbert Marin, 74, and Joan Marin, 71, pictured with their dog.

    (Courtesy of Joan and Gilbert Marin)

    Boeing has promised to cooperate with the investigation. Following the incident, Chief Executive David Calhoun acknowledged that “a quality escape” had occurred, telling employees, “This event can never happen again.”

    “This blowout — we’ve seen this pattern before. Something big happens, and Boeing makes all of these promises,” said Ed Pierson, a former senior manager at the company’s 737 factory. “Then what happens is that it fades in memory, and then Boeing asks for special exemptions and special treatment from the FAA. And the cycle continues.”

    The safety problems on the Boeing Max planes go far beyond this one incident, said Pierson, the executive director of the Foundation for Aviation Safety, a watchdog group that has tried to bring public attention to issues related to Boeing 737 Max 8 crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. In September, the group published a study that found airlines filed more than 1,300 reports about serious safety problems on Max 8 and Max 9 planes to the FAA.

    “These same issues that were there in 2018 and 2019 [at Boeing] that were the precursors to the accidents are still there,” Pierson said. “This is a culture where money is everything. They measure success by how many airplanes are delivered, instead of how many quality airplanes are delivered. … When you factor all of this together, it’s just a disaster waiting to happen.”

    Boeing did not comment on Pierson’s remarks.

    Alaska Airlines announced Friday that it had completed inspections on a first group of Max 9s that were returning to service, starting with Flight 1146 from Seattle to San Diego on Friday afternoon. The flight departed more than an hour late, according to FlightAware.

    “Each of our 737-9 MAX [planes] will return to service only after the rigorous inspections are completed and each plane is deemed airworthy according to FAA requirements,” Alaska said in a statement.

    On Wednesday, United Airlines told employees that the company planned to return their Max 9s to the skies on Sunday. Both it and Alaska had reported finding loose bolts on Max 9 planes during in-house inspections in the weeks following the Jan. 5 flight.

    “In the days ahead, our teams will continue to proceed in a way that is thorough and puts safety and compliance first,” United Chief Operations Officer Toby Enqvist wrote in a message to employees.

    Deal, the Boeing executive, said the company had taken “immediate actions to strengthen quality assurance and controls across our factories.”

    “We are deeply sorry for the significant disruption and frustration for our customers, some of whom have been publicly and unfairly criticized,” he wrote to employees.

    Meanwhile, the Marins said they’re still reliving the incident and want answers.

    “What we want to see is the airline and Boeing step up and accept responsibility and say, ‘This is what went wrong, this is how we’re going to make sure it never happens again,” said Nick Rowley, an attorney representing the Riverside couple, who noted they had not taken any legal action as of yet.

    Next week, Joan Marin plans to fly on Alaska again, this time from Los Angeles to Hawaii.

    “I did look to see what kind of plane it was to make sure it wasn’t a Max 9,” she said.

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    Kiera Feldman

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  • First Boeing 737 Max 9 takes off after FAA grounding

    First Boeing 737 Max 9 takes off after FAA grounding

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    First Boeing 737 Max 9 takes off after FAA grounding – CBS News


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    Three weeks after the emergency door of a Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane blew off moments into a flight, the jets are flying again. After the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded more than 170 of the 737s, but the cleared planes have begun to fly again. CBS News’ Kris Van Cleave reports.

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  • Alaska Airlines returns the 737 Max 9 to service with Seattle to San Diego flight

    Alaska Airlines returns the 737 Max 9 to service with Seattle to San Diego flight

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    Alaska Airlines plans to return the 737 Max 9 aircraft to service on Friday, with the first flight leaving from Seattle this afternoon and landing in San Diego. The trip will mark the first for this model of Boeing aircraft since a mid-air blowout earlier this month prompted the FAA to ground the jets. 

    Alaska Flight 1146 will depart Seattle at 2:20 p.m. Pacific Time, the airline said. It plans to fly two additional 737 Max 9 flights later in the afternoon — Flight 621 from Las Vegas to Portland, Oregon, and Flight 1086 from Seattle to Ontario, California. 

    United Airlines, the only other U.S. airline that operates the aircraft, said its 737 Max 9 fleet would begin returning to service on Saturday. United told CBS News that it will allow passengers who don’t want to fly on a Max 9 aircraft to change flights without additional cost, depending on seat availability. 

    The mid-air blowout occurred when a door plug, which are panels designed to fit into an unused exit and transform it into wall section with a window, blew out a few minutes after departure. No passengers were seriously injured, but by luck no one was seated next to the door plug that fell off the fuselage. Experts said the incident could have been far worse if passengers had been seated next to that section or if the incident occurred later in the flight when people typically unbuckle their seat belts.

    Alaska Airlines grounded all of its Max 9 jets within hours, while the FAA grounded all other Max 9s in the U.S. the following day. 


    Kayak allowing customers to filter out Boeing 737 Max 9 planes

    03:27

    Airlines found problems on other planes. Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci told NBC this week that “many” of the planes they inspected had loose bolts that are supposed to help secure the door plug to a jet’s airframe. United Airlines also found unsecured bolts on some of its Max 9s.

    On Wednesday, the FAA announced it had cleared the way for the aircraft to return to service following a rigorous inspection and maintenance process.

    Alaska Airlines told CBS News that it will take several days to get its network fully operational. It plans to ferry some of its 737 Max 9 jets from where they’ve been inspected to the airports where they will resume commercial service.

    Will people want to fly on the 737 Max 9s again?

    Alaska Airlines officials said Thursday that they have lost a few sales among people purchasing flights into February — a phenomenon called “booking away” in the airline business. They didn’t say how many people have booked away from the Max 9, but they predicted it would only last a few weeks.

    Minicucci, the Alaska CEO, said travelers may initially have “some anxiety” about flying on a Max 9, while saying he expects them to steadily regain confidence that the plane is safe.

    Travelers returned to the Boeing 737 Max 8 after two of them crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. After those accidents, Boeing had to redesign an automated flight-control system before the FAA would let Max 8s and Max 9s resume flying after a 20-month grounding.

    —With reporting by CBS News’ Kris Van Cleave and the Associated Press.

    Aimee Picchi

    Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.

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  • Flying on a Boeing 737 Max 9? Here’s what to know.

    Flying on a Boeing 737 Max 9? Here’s what to know.

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    For the first time since Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners were grounded after a mid-air blowout earlier this month, the aircraft are again carrying passengers — a prospect that might prompt questions among some travelers.

    Alaska Airlines resumed a limited number of flights with its Max 9s on Friday. United aims to follow suit on Sunday, but a spokeswoman said the airline might use them as spare planes Friday or Saturday.

    Those are the only two U.S. airlines that operate this particular model of the Boeing 737, which gained widespread attention earlier this month when a door plug blew out minutes after takeoff, exposing passengers to a gaping hole. 

    The Federal Aviation Administration has detailed the process that airlines must follow to inspect — and if necessary, repair — the panels called door plugs, one of which broke loose on Alaska Airlines flight 1282 on Jan. 5. The plugs are used to seal holes left for extra doors on the Max 9 when an unusually high number of seats requires more exits for safety reasons.

    FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker says his agency’s review of everything that has happened since the accident, including gathering information about inspections of door plugs on 40 other planes, gives him confidence that they will be safe so long as the new inspection process is followed.

    Why were the planes grounded?

    Alaska Airlines grounded all 65 of its Max 9 jets within hours after one of the two door plugs in the back half of the cabin of Flight 1282 blew away 16,000 feet above Oregon. The FAA grounded all Max 9s in the U.S. the day after the blowout.

    Even though none of the passengers were seriously injured, regulators acted quickly because the accident could have been far worse.

    By a stroke of luck, the two seats closest to the panel that blew off the plane were empty when flight 1282 took off from Portland, Oregon. And the plane had not yet reached a cruising altitude of more than 30,000 feet when passengers and flight attendants might have been walking around instead of being belted into their seats.

    Airlines found problems on other planes. Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci told NBC this week that “many” of the planes they inspected had loose bolts that are supposed to help secure the door plug to the airframe of the jet. United Airlines made similar similar findings.

    What is being done about it?

    The FAA is requiring airlines to conduct “detailed visual inspections” of the door plugs and other components, adjust fasteners and fix any damage they find before putting Max 9s back into service. The agency says the process was developed by what they learned from inspecting 40 grounded planes.

    United says the process involves removing an inner panel, two rows of seats and a sidewall liner from the cabin. Technicians open the door plug, inspect it and the surrounding hardware, and make any necessary repairs before resecuring the panel.

    In a statement, Alaska Airlines said it will only return those 737 Max 9s that have undergone “rigorous inspections.” Each plane must be deemed airworthy, according to FAA requirements, it added. 

    “The individual inspections are expected to take up to 12 hours per aircraft,” the airline said.

    Are travelers canceling flights on 737 Max 9 planes?

    Alaska Airlines officials said Thursday that they have lost a few sales among people purchasing flights into February — a phenomenon called “booking away” in the airline business. They didn’t say how many people have booked away from the Max 9, but they predicted it would only last a few weeks.

    Minicucci, the Alaska CEO, said “at first, people will have some questions, some anxiety,” but that “over time” confidence in the plane’s safety will be restored.

    Travelers returned to the Boeing 737 Max 8 after two of them crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. In that case, Boeing had to redesign an automated flight-control system before the FAA would let Max 8s and Max 9s resume flying after a 20-month grounding.

    How can I tell the type of aircraft I’m booked on?

    Most people don’t bother to look up the type of plane they are booked to fly, although there was an uptick after flight 1282. Scott Keyes, founder of the travel site Going, said once FAA clears the planes to fly — and if there are no more incidents — the public’s memory will quickly fade.

    Airline websites typically now include the type of aircraft to be used on a particular flight, but finding the information varies.

    On American Airlines’ website, the type of plane shows up right on the search results page. On the United and Alaska sites, however, you will need to take one more step: Click on “details.” On Southwest Airlines, you’ll have to click on the flight number — it’s in blue — to see the aircraft type.

    What if I don’t want to fly on a Boeing 737 Max 9?

    United told CBS News that it will allow passengers who don’t want to fly on a Max 9 aircraft to change flights without additional cost, depending on seat availability. 

    Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines said that it still has its flexible travel policy in place, which will allow passengers to rebook their flights for travel through Feb. 9. 

    Is flying safe? 

    It’s much safer than driving and also safer than rail travel on a per-mile basis, according to U.S. Department of Transportation figures.

    Airline officials and aviation regulators like to point out that there has not been a fatal crash of a U.S. airliner since 2009. However, in the past year, there has been a sharp increase in close calls being investigated by federal officials.

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  • Boeing’s 737 Max 9 returns to service for first time since door blowout

    Boeing’s 737 Max 9 returns to service for first time since door blowout

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    Boeing’s 737 Max 9 returns to service for first time since door blowout – CBS News


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    An Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to San Diego marked the first Boeing 737 Max 9 to return to service since the aircraft was grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration earlier this month following a door panel blowout aboard an Alaska Airlines flight. More 737 Max 9 jets are expected to take flight in the coming days after they undergo inspection. Kris Van Cleave reports.

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  • FAA: Grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 jets to return to service after inspections

    FAA: Grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 jets to return to service after inspections

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    FAA: Grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 jets to return to service after inspections – CBS News


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    Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun was back on Capitol Hill Thursday, meeting with lawmakers in an effort to address safety concerns following the Alaska Airlines door blowout. The Federal Aviation Administration also said that it has cleared the way for grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft to return to service after each undergoes a rigorous inspection and maintenance process. Kris Van Cleave has more.

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  • FAA urges inspections to door plugs on another Boeing 737 jet

    FAA urges inspections to door plugs on another Boeing 737 jet

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    FAA expands probe into Boeing 737 MAX 9s after jet’s fuselage blows open midflight


    FAA expands probe into Boeing 737 MAX 9s after jet’s fuselage blows open midflight

    04:02

    The Federal Aviation Administration is urging airlines to inspect door panels on another type of Boeing 737 jet, weeks after a door plug blew out mid-air on an Alaska Airlines flight.

    In a statement issued Sunday, the FAA said it is recommending that airlines that operate Boeing 737-900ER jets “visually inspect mid-exit door plugs to ensure the door is properly secured.” 

    While the Boeing 737-900ER has been in use for nearly two decades, the FAA said it has the same door plug design as the Boeing 737 Max 9 jet involved in the Alaska Airlines’ mid-air incident.

    Alaska Airlines said it has already started inspecting its fleet of 737-900ER planes. “Our foundational value is safety. Accordingly and out of an abundance of caution, we began inspecting our Boeing 737-900ER aircraft several days ago,” the carrier told CBS News. “We have had no findings to date and expect to complete the remainder of our -900ER fleet without disruption to our operations.”

    United  also said it is inspecting its jets, saying, “We started proactive inspections of our Boeing 737-900ER aircraft last week and expect them to be completed in the next few days without disruption to our customers.”

    In a statement to CBS News, Boeing said, “We fully support the FAA and our customers in this action.”


    How the Boeing plane mid-air incident is affecting travel

    03:23

    The Alaska Airlines flight was a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet, part of a line of aircraft that was first introduced in 2016 and that has been plagued with safety issues. Door plugs are panels that cover unneeded exit doors, essentially turning them into another window. 

    Following the incident, United Airlines and Alaska Airlines, which both operate Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft, said they found loose bolts on door plugs on several of their grounded jets.

    In response to the Alaska Airlines incident, U.S. regulators have grounded 171 jets from the 737 MAX 9 fleet with the same configuration as the plane involved in the incident. The FAA said it would return the 737-9 MAX to service once their safety was verified.

    —With reporting by CBS News’ Kris Van Cleave and AFP.

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  • Jacob Elordi & Renée Rapp Take On SNL With Surprise Appearances From Rachel McAdams & Megan Thee Stallion! – Perez Hilton

    Jacob Elordi & Renée Rapp Take On SNL With Surprise Appearances From Rachel McAdams & Megan Thee Stallion! – Perez Hilton

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    Saturday Night Live is back! And jam packed with famous faces!

    In its first episode of 2024, Euphoria star Jacob Elordi took on hosting duties alongside musical guest and Mean Girls star Reneé Rapp, and boy did they have a show for us! In his opening monologue, the 26-year-old joked about his highly-popular film Saltburn and THAT grave scene… If you know, you know! He also reflected on his seven-year acting career and how special it was to be on the Studio 8H stage with his loved ones in the audience. Awww! Watch (below):

    Related: Melissa Barrera Says Being Fired From Scream Was A ‘Big Awakening’

    He hit the ground running with some pretty hilarious and relevant sketches! Joining show regular Bowen Yang, the two played “professional lip readers” who can “decipher exactly what someone might be saying” — emphasis on the “might”! First off, the duo attempted to read Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet’s famous Golden Globes convo, and of course, were pretty far off of what’s generally agreed was said. According to them, Timmy thought Kim Kardashian is Kylie’s mom! Ha! They also deciphered a paparazzi vid of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce before Reneé joined the pair to speculate on what was said during Gwyneth Paltrow’s 2023 lawsuit! Watch (below):

    Jacob later introduced Reneé for a fabulous performance of her hit song Snow Angel, but the REAL surprise came when Rachel McAdams — yes, the original mean girl Regina George — introduced her for her second performance!

    2004 Regina meets 2024 Regina! We’re seeing double! How fetch is that?? We all know the reboot needs some serious positive press right about now!!

    Reneé performed her hit song Not My Fault off the Mean Girls soundtrack, and brought out surprise guest Megan Thee Stallion to help!!

    OMG! Watch both performances (below):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_9kjzTwkos

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSEuUelaaks

    Rachel flexed her comedy skills in funny acting class skit where she played Natalie Partman, an acting student who looks just like McAdams, but ISN’T McAdams! LOLz! Watch (below):

    Also during the show were some pretty funny sketches about, the Bachelor, bowling, Alaska Airlines, and more. Catch up on all of ‘em (below):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OZkHZRbb6Y

     

    So, what did you think of SNL’s first episode of 2024, Perezcious readers?? How’d Jacob do as host? Were YOU expecting to see Rachel and Megan?! How about that totally awesome crossover between the OG Regina and the new Regina?! Let us know in the comments down below!

    [Images via Saturday Night Live/Peacock]

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    Perez Hilton

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  • Another rough day for travelers as airlines cancel more than 2,200 flights

    Another rough day for travelers as airlines cancel more than 2,200 flights

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    Widespread flight cancellations continued Tuesday as a winter storm pummeled the eastern U.S., causing headaches for thousands of travelers. 

    As of 4:20 p.m. Eastern Time, airlines had scratched more than 2,200 scheduled U.S. flights, while roughly 6,800 flights were delayed, according to tracking service FlightAware. Thousands more trips were canceled or delayed over the weekend as harsh winter weather, including freezing temperatures, snow and strong winds, enveloped states in the Midwest, Northeast and South.

    Among the hardest hit airlines is Southwest Airlines, which on Tuesday scrapped more than 400 flights, or 11% of its daily schedule, while another 909 were delayed. Cancellations were also high at Alaska Airlines and United Airlines as they continued to deal with concerns over the safety of some Boeing 737 Max 9 jets following a mid-air incident last week in which a “door plug” fell off an Alaska Airlines plane.


    Winter weather still impacting flights at DIA, but warmer temperatures are on the way

    01:53

    Unlike in 2022, when airline mismanagement and staffing shortages affected holiday travel, bad weather is the main culprit behind the current woes.

    “The winter weather is the primary catalyst, but the big challenge is that this weather has been so intense and extensive,” airline Henry Harteveldt, president of Atmosphere Research Group, told CBS MoneyWatch.

    The schedule disruptions are severe enough that staffing is starting to run thin across airlines, while de-icing fluid was also in short supply Tuesday, Harteveldt added. “When you’ve got delays at major airports, everything just gets spread out across the entire aviation network and there’s a waterfall effect,” he said. 

    Travel industry expert Scott Keyes said the true test of airlines’ readiness will be in how they rebound once the weather eases in the coming days.

    “For now the cancellations and delays are understandable and forgivable. In the next days, when the weather improves, all eyes will be on airlines to see if they are able to bounce back quickly or if they suffer from more cancellations that are the result of a lack of preparation,” he said.

    By contrast, airlines will have to consider future investments to preserve their operational efficiency in the face of worsening winter storms. 

    “Once airlines and airpots get through this latest bout of bad weather, they need to really sit down and think about how they prepare for a future where bad winter weather storms may be more frequent, last longer and potentially have even greater temperature and weather extremes than we have seen,” Harteveldt said. 


    Philadelphia International Airport reporting delays, cancellations Tuesday

    01:39

    In airlines’ favor on the staffing front is the fact that this weather event is occurring in the middle, not the end, of the month. Federal law caps the total number of monthly hours that crews can work, including flight attendants and pilots. If it were closer to the end of the calendar month, crews could be at greater risk of maxing out their hours. For example, time spent waiting for aircraft to be de-iced before takeoff is applied toward employees’ schedule caps.

    “I am concerned if we see bad weather happen again that this could have a cascading effect and we could see worse problems later in the month,” Harteveldt said. 

    When bad weathers occurs, travelers should download their carrier’s app and pay attention to airline updates, he noted. If checking bags is a must, keeping essentials in a carry-on is advisable in case you end up stuck at the airport.

    Megan Cerullo


    img-6153.jpg

    Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News Streaming to discuss her reporting.

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  • FAA says it is investigating Boeing over Alaska Airlines’ mid-air blowout

    FAA says it is investigating Boeing over Alaska Airlines’ mid-air blowout

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    Experts weigh in on Boeing plane incident


    Experts weigh in on Boeing plane safety after flight incident

    05:06

    The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday it is conducting an investigation into Boeing’s 737 Max 9 aircraft following Friday’s mid-air blowout of a door plug on an Alaska Airlines flight.

    “This incident should have never happened and it cannot happen again,” the FAA said in the statement.

    The agency said the probe will examine whether Boeing “failed to ensure” whether the jet conformed to its design and whether its aircraft “were in a condition for safe operation in compliance with FAA regulations.” It added that the investigation stems from the door plug’s blowout and “additional discrepancies.”

    “We will cooperate fully and transparently with the FAA and the [National Transportation Safety Board] on their investigations,” Boeing said in a statement.

    Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun addressed the incident at a meeting with employees Tuesday. 

    “We’re going to approach this number one acknowledging our mistake,” Calhoun said in the meeting, a Boeing spokesperson confirmed to CBS News. “We’re going to approach it with 100% and complete transparency every step of the way. We are going to work with the NTSB who is investigating the accident itself to find out what the cause is. We have a long experience with this group. They’re as good as it gets.”


    Boeing CEO acknowledges “mistake” after door plug blowout

    07:26

    The blowout occurred just minutes after an Alaska Airlines flight left Portland, Oregon, forcing it to make an emergency landing Friday night, the agency said in a letter. 

    Following the January 5 incident, Alaska Airlines and United Airlines  — the only U.S. carriers who operate the 737 Max 9 — said they found loose bolts on door plugs on several of their Max 9 aircraft. The FAA said Tuesday that every 737 Max 9 plane with a door plug will remain grounded until the agency determines that the jets can safely return to service. In total, 171 of the Boeing jets are equipped with plugs.

    “Boeing’s manufacturing practices need to comply with the high safety standards they’re legally accountable to meet,” the agency said Thursday, adding, “The safety of the flying public, not speed, will determine the timeline for returning the Boeing 737-9 Max to service.”

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  • Alaska Airlines cancels all flights on 737 Max 9 planes through Saturday

    Alaska Airlines cancels all flights on 737 Max 9 planes through Saturday

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    Passenger recounts Alaska Airlines incident


    Alaska Airlines passenger recounts moment door plug blew off

    07:20

    Alaska Airlines said Wednesday it is canceling all flights scheduled on Boeing 737 Max 9 planes through January 13 as the carrier continues to investigate a mid-air incident last week in which a part fell off one of its jets and forced an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon.

    Alaska Air, which along with United Airlines is one of two U.S. carriers that uses the Max 9 planes, has scrapped hundreds of trips since the “door plug” blew off Flight 1282 as it was flying to Ontario, Canada. No one was hurt on the plane, which carried 174 passengers and six crew members.

    As of Thursday afternoon, the company had canceled 158 flights, or 22% of its daily scheduled departures, according to tracking website FlightAware.  That number exceeded Alaska’s anticipated estimate of between 110 and 150 cancellations a day until the inspections are complete. 

    “We regret the significant disruption that has been caused for our guests by cancellations due to these aircraft being out of service,” the airline said in a statement Wednesday.


    How loose bolts may be investigated following Alaska Airlines mid-air incident

    04:41

    Alaska is inspecting its aircraft for safety under guidance from the National Transportation Safety Board. The airline said it is also awaiting instructions on how to fix planes with problematic hardware. The planes will only be returned to service when they “meet all FAA and Alaska’s stringent standards,” according to Alaska Airlines. 

    Passengers whose flights are canceled or significantly delayed are entitled to full refunds under airline policy and federal law.

    “We hope this action provides guests with a little more certainty, and we are working around the clock to reaccommodate impacted guests on other flights,” the carrier said.

    Alaska Air’s fleet includes 65 737 Max 9 aircraft. Of those, 18 recently had full inspections, including of the door plugs, and have since been cleared to return to service, according to the carrier.

    Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told employees of the aviation company on Tuesday that the company is “acknowledging our mistake” in connection to the potential tragedy involving the Alaska Air plane. 

    Megan Cerullo


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    Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News streaming to discuss her reporting.

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  • Boeing supplier that made Alaska Airline’s door plug was warned of “defects” with other parts, lawsuit claims

    Boeing supplier that made Alaska Airline’s door plug was warned of “defects” with other parts, lawsuit claims

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    The manufacturer of the door plug that was blown out in mid-air during a Alaska Airlines flight on Friday was the focus of a class-action lawsuit filed less than a month earlier, with the complaint alleging that Spirit AeroSystems had experienced “sustained quality failures” in its products. 

    The complaint, initially filed in federal court in May and amended in December, was filed on behalf of investors in Spirit AeroSystems, which was originally a manufacturing unit of Boeing until it was spun off in 2005 (The company has no relationship with Spirit Airlines.) According to the suit, Spirit relies heavily on Boeing for orders and manufactures much of the aviation giant’s jet fuselages. 

    The lawsuit was earlier reported by the investigative publication The Lever.

    The midair incident involved a door plug, panels designed to fit into doors that typically aren’t needed on an aircraft, transforming them into windows. One of these plugs was sucked out of a Boeing 737 Max 9 flown by Alaska Airlines just minutes after the plane departed Oregon’s Portland International Airport on its way to Ontario, California. 

    Alaska and United Airlines — the only two U.S. carriers to fly the Boeing 737 Max 9 — have since said they have found loose bolts inside several other door plugs on the jets, which the Federal Aviation Administration has grounded.


    Pilot talks about how planes are inspected after door plug mishap on flight

    02:42

    The lawsuit is noteworthy because of its allegations of manufacturing problems, including a complaint from one Spirit employee who alleged an “excessive amount of defects” in an email to one of the company’s executives. While none of the issues flagged in the lawsuit specifically involve door plugs, the claim alleges that Spirit’s “quality failures were so severe and persistent that Boeing even placed Spirit on probation for multiple years.”

    In a statement emailed to CBS MoneyWatch on Wednesday, Spirit said it “strongly disagrees with the assertions made by plaintiffs in the amended complaint and intends to vigorously defend against the claims. Spirit will not comment further as to the pending litigation.”

    Boeing declined to comment. “We are committed to ensuring every Boeing airplane meets design specifications and the highest safety and quality standards,” the company said Monday in a statement about the Alaska Airlines incident.

    Alleged quality problems: Missing fasteners and debris

    The lawsuit alleges that Spirit’s problems were “widespread,” including “the routine presence of foreign object debris (‘FOD’) in Spirit products, missing fasteners, peeling paint, and poor skin quality.” 

    “Such constant quality failures resulted in part from Spirit’s culture which prioritized production numbers and short-term financial outcomes over product quality,” the complaint claims. 


    United finds loose bolts on some 737 Max 9 door plugs

    05:35

    The complaint also alleged that Spirit experienced two specific manufacturing problems. The first involves a claim that Spirit had “mis-drilled holes on the 737 Max aft pressure bulkhead,” which is at the rear of the plane. The second alleged problem involves a “defect relating to the tail fin fittings on certain 737 MAX aircraft,” an issue that was flagged by Boeing in April.

    Amid its manufacturing problems and a plunging stock price, Spirit overhauled its executive suite in recent months. The company in October named Pat Shanahan as its new CEO, replacing Thomas C. Gentile III, who is a defendant in the class-action suit and who had served as CEO since 2016.

    Aimee Picchi

    Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.

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  • Boeing CEO says company is

    Boeing CEO says company is

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    Dave Calhoun, president and CEO of aircraft manufacturing giant Boeing, admitted to employees in a meeting Tuesday that the company is “acknowledging our mistake” after the door plug of a 737 Max 9 blew out in midair during an Alaska Airlines flight last week, just minutes after the plane had taken off from Portland, Oregon.

    “We’re going to approach this number one acknowledging our mistake,” Calhoun said in the meeting, a Boeing spokesperson confirmed to CBS News. “We’re going to approach it with 100% and complete transparency every step of the way. We are going to work with the NTSB who is investigating the accident itself to find out what the cause is. We have a long experience with this group. They’re as good as it gets.”

    No one was seriously hurt in the incident Friday night aboard Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. The plane, carrying 174 passengers and six crew members and bound for Ontario, California, was forced to make an emergency landing back in Portland.

    In response Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily grounded 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft worldwide for safety inspections. The FAA said Tuesday that “every Boeing 737-9 Max with a plug door will remain grounded until the FAA finds each can safely return to operation.”

    “When I got that picture, all I could think about – I didn’t know what happened, so whoever was supposed to be in the seat next to that hole in the airplane,” Calhoun reportedly told Boeing employees Tuesday. “I’ve got kids, I’ve got grandkids and so do you. This stuff matters. Every detail matters.”

    National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters over the weekend that “we are very, very fortunate” no one was seated in the two adjoining seats closest to the detached door plug, whose purpose was to cover an unused exit door.

    Alaska Airlines said the plane had just been delivered from Boeing on Oct. 31. Homendy also disclosed that pilots had reported that the same plane experienced three pressurization warnings, from cockpit dashboard lights, between Dec. 7 and Jan. 4. At least one occurred in-flight.

    Both United Airlines and Alaska Airlines, which have canceled hundreds of flights due to the grounded planes, reported Monday that inspections of door plugs on grounded 737 Max 9s revealed “loose hardware” such as “bolts that needed additional tightening.”

    United said it believes the loose hardware on its grounded planes is the result of an installation issue, which would be the manufacturer’s responsibility.

    Investigators are increasingly looking at four unaccounted-for bolts that should have kept the door panel from flying off during the flight. NTSB officials have said they are not yet sure if the bolts on Alaska Airlines Max 9 “ever existed.”

    Furthermore, a class-action lawsuit was brought last month against Spirit AeroSystems, the manufacturer of the blown-out door plug, over allegations that its products had “sustained quality failures” and “frequently contained defects.”

    Investigators are trying to determine if Boeing has received damaged door plugs from Spirit Aerosystems in the past. 

    Spirit AeroSystems had been a manufacturing unit of Boeing until it was spun off in 2005.

    The lost door plug was discovered Sunday in the backyard of a teacher in the Portland metropolitan area. Two cell phones which were sucked out of the plane were also found on the ground in the Portland area, one of which was still working.

    Homendy called Friday’s event “an accident, not an incident,” and Calhoun said he trusts the NTSB will determine the cause.

    “I trust every step they take, and they will get to a conclusion,” Calhoun said Tuesday. “…The FAA, who has to now deal with airline customers who want airplanes back in service safely and to ensure all the procedures are put into place, inspections, all the readiness actions that are required to ensure every next airplane that moves into the sky is in fact safe and that this event can never happen again.”

    — Aimee Picchi, Aliza Chasan, Kris Van Cleave and Brian Dakss contributed to this report. 

    Faris Tanyos

    Faris Tanyos is a news editor for CBSNews.com, where he writes and edits stories and tracks breaking news. He previously worked as a digital news producer at several local news stations up and down the West Coast.

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  • Here’s what to know about the Boeing 737 Max 9, the jet that suffered an inflight blowout

    Here’s what to know about the Boeing 737 Max 9, the jet that suffered an inflight blowout

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    The inflight blowout on an Alaska Airlines’ plane on Friday night is prompting scrutiny of the aircraft involved, the Boeing 737 Max 9. The incident comes after other safety issues have been linked to Boeing’s Max line of aircraft, heightening concerns about the jet’s safety. 

    Here’s what we know so far. 

    What is the Boeing 737 Max 9?

    The Boeing 737 Max 9 is part of the aircraft manufacturer’s Max line of jets, introduced with the 737 Max 8 jets, which first took to the air in 2016, according to Airways Magazine. The Max line is designed to be more fuel efficient than earlier 737s, making them more economical for airlines to operate. 

    The Max 9 jets, certified by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2018, can seat up to 220 passengers and have a range of 3,300 miles, according to Boeing.

    Which U.S. airlines fly the Boeing 737 Max 9?

    Currently, there are only two airlines in the U.S. that fly the Boeing 737 Max 9: Alaska Airlines and United Airlines. United is the biggest operator of Max 9s in the world. The two airlines together operate about two-thirds of the 215 Max 9 aircraft in service around the world, according to to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

    Both Alaska and United have grounded their Max 9s as the Alaska accident is investigated, leading to hundreds of flight cancellations as of Monday afternoon.

    What is the safety history of Boeing 737 Max jets?

    The Boeing 737 Max line has a troubled history, with two fatal crashes of the Max 8 model within five months of each other, in 2018 and 2019. 

    The first crash, in October 2018, involved a 737 Max 8 operated by Indonesia’s Lion Air that killed 189. The second incident was in March 2019, when an Ethiopian Airlines flight, also a 737 Max 8, crashed minutes after take off, killing 157 passengers. 

    In response to those crashes, the FAA in 2019 grounded the 737 Max 8 and Max 9 while it investigated. Boeing changed an automated flight control system implicated in the crashes.

    Last year, the FAA told pilots to limit use of an anti-ice system on the Max in dry conditions because of concern that inlets around the engines could overheat and break away, possibly striking the plane. And in December, Boeing told airlines to inspect the planes for a possible loose bolt in the rudder-control system.

    However, those past issues are unrelated to Friday’s blowout, which is an exceedingly rare event in air travel.

    What is the “door plug” that flew off in mid-flight?

    The “door plug” that flew off during Friday’s flight was in use because the Alaska Airlines’ jet was configured to hold fewer than the maximum 220 passengers that could be packed onto a 737 Max 9. 

    According to CBS News’ Kris Van Cleave, airlines that reconfigure jets frequently use panels that cover unneeded exit doors, essentially turning the unused exit door into another window. 

    “For the most part they come with those exit doors plugged with this piece, and if you are a passenger you wouldn’t even know there is a door there,” Van Cleave told CBS News. “It would look like a normal window.”

    The piece weighs about 63 pounds and is 48 inches tall and about two feet wide, Van Cleave noted.

    Was anyone injured on the Alaska Airlines flight? 

    None of the 171 passengers or six crew were seriously injured but the rapid loss of cabin pressure caused oxygen masks to drop from the ceiling. National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said the two seats next to the part that tore off were unoccupied.

    The missing door plug has been found. Why is that important?

    The missing door plug was found near Portland in the backyard of a schoolteacher, with the National Transportation Safety Board saying that the discovery could be a vital piece of evidence in the investigation into the cause of the blowout. 

    “At the opposite end of the aisle is another door plug, so they will also be able to compare the door plug that was blown off wit the one that remains on the plane,” Mark Walker, a reporter with the New York Times, told CBS News. “They can compare if there were missing pieces, if they were damaged.”

    Since the blowout, what issues have emerged about the door plugs?

    United Airlines on Monday said that it has found “instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug – for example, bolts that needed additional tightening” during its preliminary inspections on Saturday. 

    Loose bolts and other parts were found on at least five aircraft, according to trade publication Air Current. Assembly, installation and quality control of the door plugs is the responsibility of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems, which makes the door plug, the publication added. 

    Spirit AeroSystems also worked on the installation of the door plug that suffered the blowout, according to Reuters. In a statement on Monday, Spirit AeroSystems said it is working with Boeing on the issue and that it would share more information “when appropriate.”

    Were there signs of problems with the Boeing 737 Max 9?

    The NTSB’s Homendy told reporters that pilots reported that the same plane experienced three pressurization warnings, from cockpit dashboard lights, between December 7 and January 4. At least one occurred in-flight.

    Because of that, Alaska Airlines had decided that that particular jet shouldn’t fly long routes over water. 

    “They even flagged the plane for additional maintenance. What maintenance never had a chance to be done because of the fateful flight on Friday,” he noted. 

    For how long will the Boeing 737 Max 9s be grounded?

    The length of time is unclear, but the FAA on Monday said the aircraft “will remain grounded until operators complete enhanced inspections which include both left and right cabin door exit plugs, door components and fasteners.”

    It added, “Operators must also complete corrective action requirements based on findings from the inspections prior to bringing any aircraft back into service.”

    —With reporting by the Associated Press.

    Aimee Picchi

    Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.

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  • Alaska Airlines and United cancel hundreds of flights following mid-air door blowout

    Alaska Airlines and United cancel hundreds of flights following mid-air door blowout

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    Alaska Airlines and United Airlines canceled hundreds of flights after one of Alaska Airlines’ Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft suffered a mid-air incident when a door plug blew out, requiring an emergency landing. 

    As of Monday morning, Alaska Airlines had canceled 139 flights, or 20% of its scheduled departures, while United Airlines had canceled 204 flights, or 7% of its departures, according to FlightAware, which tracks commercial plane flights. 

    Friday’s incident prompted the FAA to ground all of the types of Boeing 737 Max 9s involved in the incident until the agency is “satisfied that they are safe,” an FAA spokesperson said in a statement Sunday. 

    Alaska and United are the only two U.S. passenger airlines that use Max 9 aircraft. The companies operate nearly two-thirds of the 215 Max 9 aircraft in service around the world, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. The incident also prompted both Alaska and United to ground their entire fleets of 65 Max 9s. 

    Shares of Boeing tumbled 8% on Monday morning, while Alaska Air Group, the parent of Alaska Airlines, slipped 4%. United’s shares rose 1%.

    Alaska Airlines said passengers whose flights are canceled will be moved the next available flight, or they can request a change or a refund without incurring fees under a flexible travel policy. United said in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) that it is working with customers to find other travel options. 

    Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board said the plug, a panel that was covering an unused door on the Alaska Airlines flight, has been found. The agency’s head said the discovery could prove vital in the investigation of the cause of the blowout, which forced the Boeing 737 Max 9 to return to Portland, Oregon, minutes after takeoff.

    In a news conference Sunday night, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said the plug was found near Portland in the backyard of a schoolteacher she identified only as Bob. 

    How safe is the Boeing 737 Max 9?

    The incident has also renewed questions about the safety of Boeing’s Max aircraft, the newest version of the company’s storied 737. There are two versions of the aircraft in service: the Max 8 and the Max 9, which is the larger of the two.

    Aside from United and Alaska Airlines, six other airlines use the Max 9: Panama’s Copa Airlines, Aeromexico, Turkish Airlines, Icelandair, Flydubai, and SCAT Airlines in Kazakhstan, according to Cirium.

    Anthony Brickhouse, a professor of aerospace safety at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, said it’s too soon to say whether the blowout involved an issue with Max 9s or that specific flight. Passengers should feel confident that regulators and airlines will make sure the grounded Max 9s are safe before returning them to service, he added.

    Brickhouse also said it it was lucky that the emergency occurred shortly after takeoff when passengers were all seated with their seatbelts on. But he said that doesn’t mean passengers should feel scared to leave their seats once the pilot turns off the “fasten seatbelt” sign because it’s so unlikely for holes to open in the fuselages of airliners.

    In 1988, a flight attendant for Aloha Airlines was blown out of the cabin of a Boeing 737 over the Pacific Ocean after an 18-foot-long chunk of the roof peeled away. Metal fatigue was blamed in that case, which led to tougher rules for airlines to inspect and repair microscopic fuselage cracks.

    “When passengers board a flight they should feel confident that the aircraft they are flying on is safe,” Brickhouse said. 

    —With reporting from the Associated Press.

    Aimee Picchi

    Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.

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  • Door plug that blew off Alaska Airlines plane in-flight found in backyard

    Door plug that blew off Alaska Airlines plane in-flight found in backyard

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    The National Transportation Safety Board says the plug covering an unused exit door that blew out minutes into an Alaska Airlines flight Friday night has been found. The agency’s head said the discovery could prove vital in the investigation of the cause of the blowout, which forced the Boeing 737 Max 9 to return to Portland, Oregon minutes after takeoff.

    The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all of the types of Boeing 737 Max 9s involved until it’s “satisfied that they are safe,” an FAA spokesperson said in a statement Sunday.  

    In a news conference Sunday night, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said the plug was found near Portland in the backyard of a schoolteacher she identified only as Bob. “We are really pleased that Bob found this,” she said.

    The Reuters news agency says she had earlier told reporters the aircraft part was a “key missing component” to determine why the accident occurred.

    Homendy told reporters pilots reported that the same plane experienced three pressurization warnings, from cockpit dashboard lights, between Dec. 7 and Jan. 4. At least one occurred in-flight.

    The plane was just weeks old, delivered at the end of October. Alaska Airlines maintenance crews checked and cleared the light after each illumination.

    On the day before the blowout, Homendy said, the carrier ordered that the plane involved couldn’t make any long flights over water so it could “return very quickly to an airport” if the warning light appeared again. She stressed that the light might not be related to Friday’s incident. In addition, more maintenance work was ordered — basically a deeper dive into why the light kept illuminating — but none was done before Friday night’s flight.

    Homendy described a chaotic scene in the plane’s cockpit and directly outside the cockpit after the blowout. 

    She said the flight crew heard a bang and the cockpit “door flew open” from depressurization, so they immediately put their masks on, but communication in the cockpit and between the crew members in the cabin and cockpit were very difficult.

    The force of the depressurization slammed the cockpit door into the front restroom door, damaging the restroom door, and it took a flight attendant three tries to get the cockpit door to close again, Homendy said.

    She noted that the first officer lost her headset and the captain had a portion of her headset pulled off. The captain and first officer couldn’t hear anything in their damaged headsets once they were recovered so they used the overhead speaker to hear.

    A quick reference checklist kept within easy reach of the flight crew also flew out the door, Homendy said, adding that it was incredibly loud and chaotic on board.

    Homendy said the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were sent to NTSB labs on Sunday to be read. But CBS News senior transportation and national correspondent Kris Van Cleave reports the voice recorder won’t help investigators:

    The Reuters news agency says the NTSB has been pressing to have the cockpit voice-recording requirement increased to 25 hours. According to Reuters, Homendy said the FAA proposed a rule in November that would increase the requirement, but only for newly manufactured aircraft.

    The FAA’s Emergency Airworthiness Directive grounding many of the the Max 9s impacts about 171 worldwide. Such directives are issued “when an unsafe condition exists that requires immediate action by an owner/operator,” according to the agency.

    “The FAA’s first priority is keeping the flying public safe,” the FAA spokesperson said. 

    What happened on the Alaska Airlines flight?

    The flight from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California was minutes into its journey and had reached approximately 16,000 feet when the door plug blew off, an NTSB official said during a Saturday press briefing. The gaping hole in the side of the jet opened up where Boeing fits a plug to cover an emergency exit that the airline doesn’t use, The Associated Press explained.

    Homendy called the event an “accident, not an incident.” She said the plane was forced to return to Portland International Airport just minutes after takeoff “after a mid-cabin door plug … departed the airplane, resulting in rapid decompression.”

    The two seats next to the part that tore off were unoccupied, Homendy said. None of the 171 passengers or six crew members suffered serious injuries, Homendy said. The NTSB said Sunday that the plane didn’t sustain any structural damage.

    Who is investigating the incident?

    The FAA, NTSB, Boeing, Alaska Airlines, Airline Pilots Association and Association of Flight Attendants are all investigating, officials said. 

    The FBI is also helping local law enforcement locate parts that came off during flight. A spokesperson for the FBI’s Portland office said the agency remained “in an on-call status.”

    The NTSB has asked anyone with pictures and videos to reach out to witness@ntsb.gov.

    How are airlines and Boeing responding?

    In the U.S., only Alaska Airlines and United Airlines use the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft.

    Alaska Airlines temporarily grounded its entire 737-9 MAX fleet, pending inspections, the company said. The airline said it canceled 160 flights Saturday, impacting roughly 23,000 passengers, another 170 flights on Sunday, impacting about 25,000 passengers, and 60 for Monday. “We expect additional significant cancellations through the first half of the week,” the airline said Sunday night.

    United said Sunday that, “Service on United’s Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft remains temporarily suspended while it conducts inspections required by the FAA. We’re continuing to work with the FAA to clarify the inspection process and requirements for returning all MAX 9 aircraft to service. We are working with customers to re-accommodate them on other flights and in some cases have been able to avoid cancellations by switching to other aircraft types.”

    Agence France-Presse reports that carriers and regulators worldwide grounded some versions of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 jetliners, Turkish Airlines among them.

    Boeing has so far delivered about 218 of the 737 MAX planes worldwide, the company told AFP.

    A Boeing spokesperson said it fully supported “the FAA’s decision to require immediate inspections of 737-9 airplanes with the same configuration as the affected airplane.”

    Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun on Sunday told employees he will be holding a “company-wide webcast focused on safety” on Tuesday. He also canceled a leadership summit for Boeing vice presidents that was supposed to take place Monday and Tuesday to “focus on our support to Alaska Airlines and the ongoing National Transportation Safety Board investigation, and any of our airline customers experiencing impact to their fleets,” Calhoun wrote.

    Past investigations into Boeing 737 planes

    There are currently two versions of the Boeing 737 in service: the Max 8 and the Max 9.

    In 2018, a Lion Air flight on a Boeing 737 Max 8 plane crashed into the ocean. The following year, an Ethiopian Airlines plane of the same model crashed shortly after takeoff. More than 300 people died in the two crashes. The jets were grounded in March 2019. The Boeing 737 Max was allowed to return to service late in 2020.

    In April, Boeing paused 737 Max production over an issue with aircraft parts.

    Homendy said after Friday’s incident that the NTSB does not suspect there is an overall design problem with the plane. 

    Aliza Chasan

    Aliza Chasan is a digital producer at 60 Minutes and CBSNews.com. She has previously written for outlets including PIX11 News, The New York Daily News, Inside Edition and DNAinfo. Aliza covers trending news, often focusing on crime and politics.

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  • Missing door plug that detached from Alaska Airlines plane found in Oregon backyard

    Missing door plug that detached from Alaska Airlines plane found in Oregon backyard

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    An aircraft engine is being tested at Honeywell Aerospace in Phoenix.

    Alwyn Scott | Reuters

    A missing door plug that could be key to the investigation into what caused it to detach from a plane midflight Friday has been found in the backyard of a Portland, Oregon-area resident, officials said Sunday.

    After the end of a news conference in which National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy laid out the probe’s status, she returned to give a piece of positive news: “I’m excited to announce that we found the door plug,” she said.

    Identifying the resident who sent two photos of the item to the NTSB only as Bob, a schoolteacher, she said, “Thank you, Bob.”

    “We’re going to go pick that up and make sure that we begin analyzing it,” Homendy said.

    At the end of the first full day of the NTSB investigation into the accident on board Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, the agency’s chair indicated that some factors were complicating the probe: The plane’s cockpit voice recorder’s record of the event was inadvertently taped over, and, at the time, the door plug had not been found.

    “That is unfortunately a loss for us,” Homendy said, lamenting the loss of voice data and sounding frustrated during a news conference Sunday night. “That is a loss for safety.”

    A JetBlue Airways plane taxis next to American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines aircraft at Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, on Monday, April 6, 2020.

    Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    Homendy supports expanding the minimum time recorded on the devices from two hours to 25 hours. Such a time span would have saved the cockpit voice data from Friday’s accident.

    She said the device from Friday’s flight automatically recorded over the pertinent voice data because someone failed to power it down. It starts a fresh recording, wiping out the last one, every two hours.

    “The circuit breaker was not pulled,” Homendy said.

    ‘They heard a bang’

    She described chaos and communication issues on board the Boeing 737 Max 9 as flight crew reported hearing a loud noise and the cabin rapidly depressurized Friday evening over the Portland area.

    “They heard a bang,” she said.

    The plane’s first officer lost her headset in the depressurization, and the captain had headset problems, as well, Homendy said. So they turned on a speaker for communication, she said.

    “Communication was a serious issue,” Homendy said.

    At the same time, the cockpit door opened violently, and a laminated emergency checklist pilots use in just such a situation flew out, the chair said.

    “It did blew open during the explosive decompression,” Homendy said of the cockpit door.

    The pilots turned to another reference guide, a handbook, she said, as a flight attendant took three tries to shut the cockpit door.

    “The actions of the flight crew were really incredible,” Homendy said. “It was very violent when the door was expelled out of the plane. There was a lot going on.”

    Homendy said the situation could have been far more dire had the plane been at cruising altitude, about 35,000 feet.

    Earlier Sunday she spoke to NBC News about task ahead for NTSB investigators and said the “stakes are high.”

    The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered some Boeing 737 Max 9 airplanes, the model flown in the Alaska Airlines incident, to be grounded and issued a directive requiring inspections before certain aircraft can fly again. The new directive affects 171 planes worldwide.

    During Sunday night’s news conference, Homendy described some of the damage inside the plane. It included two seats, unoccupied by chance, that sustained such violent force that their frames had “torqued.”

    Both seats in row 26 were missing their headrests, and one was missing a seat back. In all, damage was found along 12 of the plane’s seat rows, Homendy said.

    She expressed concern over three babies who were held in the laps of their caregivers. The NTSB, the FAA and Alaska Airlines all recommend, but don’t require, that young children travel in car seats secured in separate, ticketed seats.

    Analyzing the door plug

    Investigators are looking at how the door plug — a panel where an optional emergency exit can be placed depending on passenger capacity — was fastened before it blew out of the plane, Homendy said.

    They also want to know more about air pressurization alerts that went off on the plane during flights on Dec. 7 and on Wednesday and Thursday, the latter being the days before the accident.

    She said the airline prohibited the aircraft from embarking on long flights over water — specifically from traveling to Hawaii — until the issue could be checked out more thoroughly. By Friday night’s flight from Portland to Ontario, California, that inspection hadn’t been completed, Homendy said.

    She said the issue had been described to the NTSB has “benign” and that it was unclear whether there was any correlation between those alerts and Friday’s accident.

    Homendy said investigators were focused in part on how the door plug was fastened and whether there were failures related to it, although she said the structural integrity of the aircraft was intact following the accident.

    She described two hinges at the bottom of the plug that allow a small degree of opening for routine inspections as well as four “stop fittings” in the shape of circles.

    “The purpose is to prevent that door plug from being pushed out of the air frame,” she said.

    All those elements were going to get a close look, Homendy said.

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  • Alaska Air blowout’s missing 737 Max fuselage chunk so hard to find investigators are asking for public’s help

    Alaska Air blowout’s missing 737 Max fuselage chunk so hard to find investigators are asking for public’s help

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    The National Transportation Safety Board appealed to the public to help locate the missing door that suffered a blowout on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 as the agency began the process of finding out what went wrong.

    “We’ve now determined based on our definition of substantial damage that this is an accident, not an incident,” NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said at a Saturday night press briefing in Portland, Oregon. “We are very fortunate this didn’t end up in something more tragic.”

    The plane was carrying 171 passengers and six crew from Portland to Ontario, California on Jan. 5 when the crew reported a pressurization issue. What followed was a rear left part of the fuselage blowing out, leaving the hole resembling the opening for a door. The aircraft returned to Portland about 20 minutes after takeoff, having reached an altitude of about 16,000 feet (4,800 meters).

    Read More: After Boeing 737 Max planes crashed and killed hundreds of people about five years ago, one just lost a chunk of its fuselage in midair

    On the Max 9, Boeing includes a cabin exit door located just behind the wings, but before the rear exit door. This is activated in dense seating layouts to meet evacuation requirements. The doors are not activated on Alaska Air aircraft and are permanently “plugged.”

    No one was seated in the immediate two seats — 26 A and B — nearest the plugged door, Homendy said. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is also helping local law enforcement track down the door.

    Flight data and cockpit voice recorders from the plane will be sent to a laboratory Sunday for analysis, the NTSB said.

    Homendy said the NTSB investigation will include a look at the Federal Aviation Administration’s oversight of Boeing Co. and the manufacturer’s process for planemaking on the affected aircraft type. She stressed everything would be studied at the early stages, and nothing would be excluded until it could hone in on the causes of interest.

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    Danny Lee, Bloomberg

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