Boeing Concerns Deepen as United Discovers 'Loose Hardware' on Multiple Planes

By Richard Moorhead January 9, 2024 at 1:31pm

A Boeing passenger aircraft is under scrutiny after one in-flight incident has led to mass safety inspections.

Alaska Airlines and United have grounded their fleets of Boeing 737 Max 9 planes after finding “loose hardware” on multiple aircraft, according to CNBC.

The finds came after an emergency door of one aircraft fell off of the plane after take-off from Portland International Airport on Saturday.

Alaska Airlines flight #AS1282, a Boeing 737 MAX 9, experienced a rapid decompression after the loss of a large panel that included an emergency exit door on the left side of the plane.
The flight made a safe return to Portland (PDX).pic.twitter.com/KH4gs0X4o6

— Aviation Safety Network (ASN) (@AviationSafety) January 6, 2024

The concerning incident spurred the Federal Aviation Administration to ground dozens of the planes as a safety measure, pending further inspection.

In a statement, Alaska Airlines pledged to complete a thorough inspection of its fleet at the behest of the regulator,

“All aircraft will be thoroughly inspected in accordance with detailed instructions provided by the FAA in consultation with Boeing,” the statement said.

“No aircraft will be returned to service until all of these steps are complete.”

United Airlines announced that it had identified loose bolts on door plugs of its Boeing 737 Max 9 fleet following the grounding.

Boeing’s latest 737 MAX crisis deepened after United Airlines and Alaska Airlines said they had found loose parts on multiple grounded MAX 9 aircraft, raising new concerns among industry experts about how its best-selling jet family is manufactured https://t.co/dKl19wun5J pic.twitter.com/VQfBgcuCao

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 9, 2024

“These findings will be remedied by our Tech Ops team to safely return the aircraft to service,” the carrier pledged.

Alaska also identified “loose hardware” after the safety measure.

Would you feel safe flying on a Boeing 737 Max 9?

Boeing itself voiced support for the FAA’s decision to require airlines to inspect the planes.

“Safety is our top priority and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers,” the aviation giant said in a statement distributed on social media.

pic.twitter.com/3hnQPSuWG6

— Boeing Airplanes (@BoeingAirplanes) January 6, 2024

Boeing has faced difficulties related to aircraft safety in recent years.

The 737 Max was grounded after numerous fatal crashes in 2019.

Boeing’s corporate strategy of outsourcing its production to India has been criticized as a factor harming its safety standards.

A Note from Our Deputy Managing Editor:

I heard a chilling comment the other day: “We don’t even know if an election will be held in 2024.”

That wasn’t said by a conspiracy theorist or a doomsday prophet. No, former U.S. national security advisor Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn said that to the founder of The Western Journal, Floyd Brown.

Gen. Flynn’s warning means that the 2024 election is literally the most important election for every single living American. If we lose this one, 248 years of American history will have finally come to an end — ended by wealthy elites who hate us, hate God, and hate what America stands for.

The end game is here, and as Benjamin Franklin said, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

All of this means that without you, it’s over. We have the platform, the journalists, and the experience to fight back hard, but Big Tech is strangling us through advertising blacklists, shadow bans, and algorithms. Did you know that we’ve been blacklisted by 90% of advertisers? Without direct support from you, our readers, we can’t continue the fight.

Can we count on your support? It may not seem like much, but a simple Western Journal membership can make all the difference in the world because when you support us directly, you cut Big Tech out of the picture. They lose control.

A monthly Western Journal membership costs less than one coffee and breakfast sandwich each month, and it gets you access to ALL of our content — news, commentary, and premium articles. You’ll experience a radically reduced number of ads, and most importantly you will be vitally supporting the fight for America’s soul in 2024.

We are literally counting on you because without our members, The Western Journal would cease to exist. Will you join us in the fight?

Sincerely,

Josh Manning

Deputy Managing Editor

The Western Journal

Submit a Correction →