Blown-out door 'plug' in Alaska Airlines was manufactured in Malaysia
 "Blown-out door `plug` in Alaska Airlines was manufactured in Malaysia")
Image of door plug ripped off from Alaska Airlines. Photograph:( Others )
Washington, US | Updated: Jan 18, 2024, 13:05 (IST)
The head of the safety agency looking into the major scare when the door on an Alaska Airlines flight blew out mid-air has provided an update on Wednesday (Jan 17). National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chief Jennifer Homendy said that the blown-out panel of the jetliner was manufactured in Malaysia by Boeing’s leading supplier.
Notably, an Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, which departed from Portland, Oregon, was forced to make a freak emergency landing on Friday (Jan 5) in the wake of a door "plug" that blew off mid-air when the plane was at a frightening height of 16,000 feet.
Homendy noted that Spirit AeroSystems produced the panel and now the safety agency is looking into the procedure of its production to ascertain what went wrong. This comes after Homendy held a closed-door meeting with members of the Senate Commerce Committee in Washington, media reports said.
A Spirit AeroSystems representative, in a remark that conceded to what was disclosed by the NTSB head, affirmed that the panel was produced by the company. The company spokesperson also reassured that the firm is ready to render any help needed by NTSB to look into the case.
This is not an isolated event as in another incident a United Airlines flight, which took off from Florida, made an emergency landing after the open door indicator light started blinking on January 10.
Investigation continuing
After the potentially deadly mid-air incident, the United States aviation investigators are inspecting the Boeing jets. Boeing is under the radar and the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft has been temporarily grounded by the regulators.According to officials cited by media reports, airlines have inspected 40 planes similar to the one involved in the January 5 incident.
“Nothing was said about penalties or enforcement, but when there is an end result, I have no doubt but that there will be consequences,” a Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran said.
During the briefing, “there was also interest in trying to make sure that the FAA is doing its job in its oversight,” Moran said in an interview.
