WERE THERE PRIOR WARNINGS?
Pilots on the identical Alaska Airways plane reported that the auto pressurisation fail mild had illuminated on three different events – Dec 7, Jan 3 and Jan 4.
The auto pressurisation fail mild comes on when the stress within the cabin adjustments at an unusually quick fee.
Nevertheless, it’s unclear if there are any connections between the three incidences and the one on Jan 5, mentioned NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy.
She added that the airline had decided after the warnings to prohibit the plane from making lengthy flights over water to Hawaii in order that it may return rapidly to an airport if wanted.
Alaska Airways mentioned earlier in a response to questions in regards to the warning lights that plane pressurisation system write-ups had been typical in industrial aviation operations with giant planes.
“In each case, the write-up was totally evaluated and resolved per authorized upkeep procedures and in full compliance with all relevant FAA rules,” mentioned the airline.
A POSSIBLE DESIGN FLAW?
The newest mishap may stem from the manufacturing of the door plug that got here unfastened, or bolts that had been imagined to safe it, or from a top quality management difficulty, mentioned Scott Hamilton from aviation information outlet Leeham Information.
“If it is certainly a top quality assurance difficulty, whether or not it is in Spirit or at Boeing, I’d say it is greater than seemingly a slender, high quality assurance difficulty,” he mentioned, referring to Spirit Aerosystems, Boeing’s principal subcontractor.
“I feel that is extra of a one-off anomaly than I’d a systemic difficulty,” he mentioned.
“For me, it’s a very remoted drawback,” added Michel Merluzeau, an aeronautics specialist with consulting agency AIR. “I do by no means assume it’s a design drawback.”
He mentioned proof for that is the truth that the FAA ordered inspections that take simply 4 to eight hours.
“We ought to be again to regular in a few week,” mentioned Merluzeau.
He mentioned that the most recent incident could possibly be a results of provide chain and manufacturing issues which might be at the moment affecting the industrial aviation sector.
For example in 2020, because the pandemic raged and the US economic system largely went into lockdown, Boeing stopped making planes for practically a month.
As air journey fell off dramatically, Boeing laid off round 30,000 employees.
Boeing began hiring en masse once more in 2022 however many skilled employees didn’t return to the corporate.
