Alaska Airlines 737 peak incident: Lack of paperwork hampers investigation

The investigation into a near-miss involving a 737 Max on an Alaska Airlines flight in January has been hampered by a lack of paperwork. The incident involved the explosion of a door stopper in flight, an event that could have been catastrophic had it not been for the quick actions of the crew. The missing documentation has made it difficult to determine who was responsible for the error.

Boeing, the aircraft manufacturer, recently revealed that missing documentation may have been the root cause of the problem. There was apparently no documentation available to show who worked on the door plug, so the four screws needed to secure it were not installed before the aircraft left the factory. The workers who were to reinstall the screws were not given a work order indicating that the task was to be done.

This incident is indicative of broader problems with the quality of work on Boeing's assembly lines, which have become the subject of multiple federal investigations and whistleblower disclosures. These issues have also led to delays in aircraft deliveries, causing problems for airlines and passengers worldwide.

However, Boeing's disclosure of these details may have landed the company in hot water with regulators. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) criticized Boeing for releasing non-public investigative information to the media, claiming the company had blatantly violated the agency's rules. As a result, Boeing will no longer have access to information generated by the NTSB during its investigation, and the agency has referred Boeing's conduct to the Department of Justice.

The mishap with the Alaska Air door plug occurred because two different groups of plant employees were tasked with the job, with one group removing and the other reinstalling the plug of the door as the aircraft moved down the assembly line. However, the first group did not produce the necessary documentation to indicate that they had removed the plug from the door and the four screws required to hold it in place. Consequently, when the second group of employees reinstalled the plug, they did not know that the plane was not ready to fly.

The plane flew for about two months with the door plug in place, despite the lack of screws. However, minutes after the Alaska Airlines flight took off, the door plug went out, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the plane. Fortunately, no passengers were seriously injured and the crew was able to land the plane safely.

Boeing is now addressing the problem by slowing the speed at which planes move along assembly lines and making sure planes don't move forward with unresolved issues.