An Investigation of the Accidents in the Boeing 9-99 Aircraft Using a Fault-Corrupted Anti-Ice System

Yesterday, The Seattle Times reported that Boeing had petitioned the FAA for a safety exemption for the 737 Max 7, a smaller plane the agency hasn’t certified yet. An engine nacelle could break up because the plane has a defect. The article says existing 737 Max planes with the same defect are allowed to continue operating so long as pilots turn off the plane’s anti-ice system after “icing conditions dissipate to avoid overheating,” which could damage the nacelle. Boeing reportedly called nacelle breakup “extremely improbable” in its petition.

The company stated that it will come back to service after their inspections are done with full confidence. The airline expects inspections on all 65 of its Boeing 737 Max 9s to be completed in the next few days.

The incident occurred shortly after takeoff and the gaping hole caused the cabin to depressurize. Flight data showed the plane climbed to 16,000 feet (4,876 meters) before returning to Portland International Airport.

Boeing was going to pay more than 2.5 billion dollars to settle a criminal charge related to the crashes. Boeing was ordered to pay a criminal penalty of $243.6 million and 500 million dollars was given to the families of people killed in crashes. Much of the rest of the settlement was marked off for airlines that had purchased the troubled 737 Max planes.

But it wasn’t just manufacturing flaws. A report by the Department of Transportation’s inspector general found that the company failed to tell regulators about critical changes it made to its flight control system. According to the report, this was done by Boeing to speed up the certification process.

Investigators determined that the company’s newly rolled-out flight control system was partly to blame. In both incidents, the system known as MCAS acted on a faulty sensor and forced both planes to erroneously nosedive even as the pilots attempted to regain control.

In the past year, deaths have been attributed to the aircraft’s safety problems, after fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. In December of 2020, Boeing completed the first flight of its new plane, the Boeing 737 Max.

Following tonight’s incident on Flight 1282, we have decided to temporarily ground our entire fleet of 65 Boeing 9-99 aircraft,” Minicucci said in a statement.

Oxygen masks were deployed as the aircraft quickly returned to Portland International Airport at 5:26 p.m. PST, according to FlightAware.com. There were more than 150 passengers and six crew members on the flight. No casualties or serious injuries were reported.

Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 took off from Portland, Ore., shortly after 5 p.m. PST Friday, bound for Ontario, Calif. There was a gaping hole on the plane’s left side after a window and part of the fuselage broke during the flight.

“The MAX -8 aircraft in our existing fleet and the -7 in our future fleet do not have the exit door plug involved in the Friday evening event. Our fleet and operation are unaffected,” a Southwest spokesperson said in a statement.

Southwest Airlines told NPR that they don’t carry the plane. There is no limit to the number of Max 9s. Both airlines said that no concerns were raised by the model.

The First Flight of a Single-Aisle, Twin-Engine, Boeing 737 from Alaska Airlines Arrived in Portland, Oregon

The FAA advised pilots to limit the use of the Max in dry conditions because inlets around the engines could overheated and possibly strike the plane.

Boeing’s venerable 737, which is a twin-engine, single-aisle plane, is frequently used on U.S. domestic flights. The plane went into service in May 2017.

The plane had been on more than 100 flights since it entered commercial service. The plane’s second flight of the day was from Portland.

A passenger sent a picture to KATU-TV showing a hole in the side of the airplane. Video shared with the station showed people wearing oxygen masks and passengers clapping as the plane landed.

According to Live ATC.net, a recording of the pilot’s instructions to return to the airport, the plane was depressurized and the pilot told air traffic controllers there was an emergency.

The plane was diverted around 6 minutes after it left, according to Flight tracking data from the website. It landed at 5:26 p.m.

All of the aircraft will be sent for maintenance and safety inspections which will be completed in a few days, said Minicucci.

Alaska Airlines grounded all of its Boeing 737-9 aircraft late Friday, hours after a window and piece of fuselage on one such plane blew out in midair and forced an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon.