Alaska Airlines grounds Boeing 737 Max 9 planes…

[wc98]

G-wiz said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-6803...

Boeing 747-8 engine on a cargo plane appeared to emit flames before making an emergency landing at Miami International Airport

It's fine, got another 3 engines to rely on. Quite a few 747's flying around Africa with multiple systems in-op,awesome aircraft that can take some serious abuse.

[wc98]

eliot said:

Apart from preventing fretting (rattling around), the door bolts in this instance simply prevent the door moving upwards, as long as they are in place the tightness has no relevance in this case.
Ergo, imo they forgot to refit them and only gravity kept the door in the guides and therefore shut.

The biggest surprise is none of the cabin crew heard the whistling noise in the previous weeks. Given it had pressurisation issues for weeks i refuse to believe it wasn't making any noise on the climb to altitude.

[rjfp1962]

Just subtely bringing this back on-topic, with the latest on Boeing 737 Max 9's and Alaska Airlines

https://airlive.net/news/2024/01/18/alaska-airline...

[loafer123]

rjfp1962 said:

Just subtely bringing this back on-topic, with the latest on Boeing 737 Max 9's and Alaska Airlines

https://airlive.net/news/2024/01/18/alaska-airline...

Seemed whole in the photos…this looks like a fitting issue, surely?

[hidetheelephants]

rjfp1962 said:

Just subtely bringing this back on-topic, with the latest on Boeing 737 Max 9's and Alaska Airlines

https://airlive.net/news/2024/01/18/alaska-airline...

It fell off because it wasn't fastened properly in a factory in the US, not because it was made in Malaysia.

[Southerner]

rjfp1962 said:

Just subtely bringing this back on-topic, with the latest on Boeing 737 Max 9's and Alaska Airlines

https://airlive.net/news/2024/01/18/alaska-airline...

Is it normal for essential aircraft components to have their serial numbers and other technical details scribbled down the side in pen?!!

[ChemicalChaos]

Southerner said:

Is it normal for essential aircraft components to have their serial numbers and other technical details scribbled down the side in pen?!!

Yes.
Seems weirdly old fashioned, but it persists. Every single piece of my Sea King has a part number and serial hand written onto it somewhere, often an airframe number too if it's a major component.

[magpie215]

Southerner said:

rjfp1962 said:

Just subtely bringing this back on-topic, with the latest on Boeing 737 Max 9's and Alaska Airlines

https://airlive.net/news/2024/01/18/alaska-airline...

Is it normal for essential aircraft components to have their serial numbers and other technical details scribbled down the side in pen?!!

Common.

The actual data plate is quite small so a sharpie with the important numbers is usually scrawled on somewhere.

[dvs_dave]

rjfp1962 said:

Just subtely bringing this back on-topic, with the latest on Boeing 737 Max 9's and Alaska Airlines

https://airlive.net/news/2024/01/18/alaska-airline...

airlive.net said:

“This comes after Homendy held a closed-door meeting with members of the Senate Commerce Committee in Washington, media reports said.”

Are you sure about that?

It’s really being *blown out* of all proportion.

[eliot]

rjfp1962 said:

Just subtely bringing this back on-topic, with the latest on Boeing 737 Max 9's and Alaska Airlines

https://airlive.net/news/2024/01/18/alaska-airline...

Door could of been made on the moon for all the difference it would of made. It wasn’t bolted in imo.

[Eric Mc]

Could of...

Would of...

Just sayin'

[GliderRider]

Its no surprise that the door was made in Malaysia. Offsetting manufacture of smaller assemblies is done to encourage that country's national carrier to buy the aircraft, and often features in press releases when the order is placed ("$xxx million of parts and x000's of local jobs secured by Boeing/Airbus order"). It may not even be cheaper than making in the airliner manufacturer's own country/countries. Airbus, as I recall, had fuel tank hatches made in Malaysia.

Aerospace markers and aerospace ink are a common thing too. They are a pain to ship, as the packaging has to be able to fully absorb the contents of the whole pen or bottle if it breaks, so there is no danger of marking other freight or the aircraft transporting it.

Edding 8404 Aerospace Marker

[eliot]

Boeing whistle blower claims bolts were never reinstalled:

https://leehamnews.com/2024/01/15/unplanned-remova...

throwawayboeingN704AL

Edited by eliot on Wednesday 24th January 23:39

[eldar]

More on the missing bolts, 'door' opened or removed confuses quality management systems. Blancolirio video.

https://youtu.be/XhRYqvCAX_k?si=lz6LgVREBoxAvYa6

[eliot]

eldar said:

More on the missing bolts, 'door' opened or removed confuses quality management systems. Blancolirio video.

https://youtu.be/XhRYqvCAX_k?si=lz6LgVREBoxAvYa6

Indeed - and includes an animated of the door and bolts in question at the end of his video.

[768]

eliot said:

Boeing whistle blower claims bolts were never reinstalled:

https://leehamnews.com/2024/01/15/unplanned-remova...

throwawayboeingN704AL

That all sounds so horribly plausible for a big aerospace firm.

[Eric Mc]

eliot said:

eldar said:

More on the missing bolts, 'door' opened or removed confuses quality management systems. Blancolirio video.

https://youtu.be/XhRYqvCAX_k?si=lz6LgVREBoxAvYa6

Indeed - and includes an animated of the door and bolts in question at the end of his video.

Are we seeing another example of "sub-contractor" culture at work. Spirit used to be just another division of Boeing. In fact, the factory in Wichita was originally the home of the Stearman company which Boeing bought in the 1930s. Boeing built B-17s. B-29s, B-47s and B-52s at Wichita.

So, as part of Boeing, it was an integral part of the corporation - presumably sharing the same quality control systems, management structures etc.

As an independent sub-contractor, it now does its own thing and Boeing's main interest in dealing with them is beating them down on price. After all, Boeing sold off their Wichita division for a reason - economics.

[tim0409]

eldar said:

More on the missing bolts, 'door' opened or removed confuses quality management systems. Blancolirio video.

https://youtu.be/XhRYqvCAX_k?si=lz6LgVREBoxAvYa6

I posted on the other thread early on that I thought the bolts had never been installed. I fell down the rabbit hole of aircraft plug/door design (having moved on from being an expert in the NI protocol, epidemiology, and geo politics), and came to the conclusion that it was highly unlikely the bolts came loose (given the castellated nuts/split pin design and that there was no real forces acting on them), and much more likely the spring at the bottom of the door was holding the rollers in place until they (the rollers) were dislodged in flight due to turbulence. Scary, but likely to be the cause.

[Derek Smith]

Southerner said:

Is it normal for essential aircraft components to have their serial numbers and other technical details scribbled down the side in pen?!!

A friend of mine used to live in Crowborough, Sussex. An undercarriage door hit the roof of their shed and stuck in it. They phoned Gatwick and were told 'someone would be around'. They were phoned later to be asked if they would get the serial number off the panel. My friend refused as the shed had suffered significant damage. No one came to look at it and then they continued not coming. The insurance company assessor wrote off the shed and he took it on himself to get the thing removed. It was something like six weeks before someone turned up, without a ladder, identified it as an undercarriage door, then wandered off. It took another couple of weeks before they eventually removed the thing. No one seemed at all bothered bits were falling off planes and inflicting significant damage to sheds.

The thing must have been spinning as it ran across the roof of the shed. Lucky it didn't hit a person.

[Eric Mc]

When did this incident happen?

What type of aeroplane did the undercarriage part belong to?