Photo by Miguel Ángel Sanz on Unsplash
Boeing CEO Acknowledges Alaska Airlines ‘Mistake’ That Led to Almost Fatal Incident
January 10, 2024
Six minutes after takeoff from Portland, Oregon, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 727 Max 9 jet lost a “door-sized section of its fuselage,” which “critically depressurized the aircraft and forced an emergency landing” on Friday, Jan. 5. No one was seriously injured, and the plane landed safely, but it has led to an investigation from the National Transportation Safety Board as well as other agencies.
The blowout also led the CEO of Boeing to take a good, hard look at the circumstances that led to the almost fatal incident that left a hole in an in-flight airplane. Dave Calhoun, Boeing CEO, acknowledged a “mistake” had been made within his company and he was working with the appropriate safety departments to ensure something of this nature never happens again.
“We’re going to approach this by, No. 1, acknowledging our mistake. We’re going to approach it with 100% and complete transparency every step of the way,” he told a town hall staff meeting in Renton, Washington. He claimed that Boeing was working with the NTSB “to find out what the root cause was.”
Calhoun added that the company was working to assure airline customers that its planes are safe. The company will continue to earn the trust of its customers by ensuring all safety checkpoints are met throughout every step of their flights.
Additionally, Calhoun remarked that the image of the blown-out jet widely published after the incident made him think of his family. He admitted that when he saw the picture, all he could think about were his kids and grandkids. “This stuff matters. Every detail matters, every detail,” he said.
Boeing also issued a message to operators with instructions for inspecting certain 737-9 airplanes. The company’s Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Stan Deal said teams have been working diligently with the FAA to provide comprehensive, technical instructions to operators for their required inspections.
As for Alaska Airlines’ response, the airline made a statement on Jan. 10, which said, “We have made the decision to cancel all flights on 737-9 MAX aircraft through Saturday, Jan. 13 while we conduct inspections and prepare fully for return to service. This equates to between 110-150 flights per day. We hope this action provides guests with a little more certainty, and we are working around the clock to reaccommodate impacted guests on other flights.”
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