UPDATE 1/9 – United Airlines and Alaska Airlines have confirmed that they have identified loose bolts on door plug fittings. United confirmed a report from The Air Current that loose bolts were found on five MAX 9s after commencing preliminary inspections of its aircraft on Saturday, one day after the Alaska Airlines MAX 9 lost a door plug shortly after take-off from Portland. United said the bolts needed additional tightening. Alaska later said that it too had found loose bolts on some aircraft.
Aviation reporter Edward Russell shared a picture of a bottom fitting with loose bolts. Monday’s updates follow the news that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has sent the recovered door plug to its materials laboratory in Washington. Together with detailed inspections of grounded MAX 9s with door plugs, this should produce more evidence of what happened during flight AS1282 on January 5.
Active as a journalist since 1987, with a background in newspapers, magazines, and a regional news station, Richard has been covering commercial aviation on a freelance basis since late 2016.
Richard is contributing to AirInsight since December 2018. He also writes for Airliner World, Aviation News, Piloot & Vliegtuig, and Luchtvaartnieuws Magazine. Twitter: @rschuur_aero.
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