Since late November, this plane flew to and from Hawaii frequently. The fleet has now been grounded.
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41 thoughts on “New Plane Flew 22 Hawaii Flights Prior To Mid-Air Blowout”
Since late November, this plane flew to and from Hawaii frequently. The fleet has now been grounded.
As a retired airline mechanic, that’s worked pressurization problems. According to write up if it was wrote up as squealing then as a mechanic you hold up boarding. Shut all doors presurize the airplane till you find the leak. And repair it. If the report not holding then do the same thing. Now if it showed a fault then you bite check the cabin pressure controllers and see what the fault was . And repair it if a no go are Mel it if it can go like it is . The Mel is approved by the faa and the manufacturer. There are 2 pressurization systems
Reports are now starting to surface of United finding 5 aircraft with loose bolts on the door plugs. It just seems that Boeing aircraft had far fewer problems when all aircraft were built in Boeing factories in Washington. Ever since they started parting out manufacturing to other companies, and opening the assembly plant in SC, there have been nothing but headaches and quality control issues.
Interesting report on BBC from NTSB that Alaska had restricted the routes for the Boeing plane involved after pressurization warnings in the days before the event.
Pilots had logged warning lights on three previous flights, said Jennifer Homendy of theUS National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). As a result, the airline prevented the jet from making long-haul flights over water, Ms Homendy said.
Good news for Hawaii travelers but should Alaska have continued to fly equipment with a recurrent warning of a potentially serious fault? I guess the NTSB will tell us all, so we wait to see.
FYI the 737 Max9 and the 737-900 both have the plugged exit. The -900 has flown for 20 years with many airlines without incident.
Flying to Hawaii in May. Big island
Getting concerned with flight delays and flights having so many turn around and emergency landings.
Canceled maui last year as our condo near fire area.
I have till March to cancel accommodation and not booked flight yet.
I’m pretty nervous about my upcoming flight but I don’t know for certain that is a 737 Max 9 because I cannot access my reservation on the website. If you look at future flights from LAX to OGG they all show American Airlines not Alaska on the Alaska website.
Hi Nancy, I believe the FAA is grounding all 737 Max 9s across all United States airlines following this incident. You should be fine. Enjoy Hawaii! Local businesses need some love in Hawaii.
I will definitely chose an isle seat if I fly. I was on a SD to Kona flight in December but not on that particular aircraft.
Had that incident occurred in the middle of a Hawaii route, is it conceivable that the plane could have descended to 10K and flown at that altitude all the way to the nearest airport? Do they carry enough fuel for that?
Yes they do…in fact it’s an FAA requirement that they carry enough fuel to fly at 10,000′ to the nearest suitable airport (with good enough weather to land) at any time during the flight based on winds that it will encounter on that particular day. That’s why on some flights with the older generation 737’s they bump passengers and/or cargo on days with strong headwinds. They need to carry enough fuel to conform to that requirement. It’s not something that be be scrimped on
Sure glad that did not happen on a trans-Pacific flight. The outcome would have been much different. Hawaii flights typically fly at between 34000-40000 feet. Pilots ascend quickly to the cruise attitude to save fuel. It would take a pilot about 10-15 minutes to descend to 10000 ft from 35000 and the aircraft would be in a dive on the way down.
Very unfortunate accident last night. I’ve flown in Boeings from 1960 on. There used to be a saying: “If it ain’t Boeing, I ain’t going”.
My spouse retired from Boeing about 6 years ago. The motto amongst the employees during his time was “we make them fly despite management”. Still, I’d prefer Boeing over Airbus.
I only guess, 10’000ft is still pretty high up and I am sure they carry enough fuel to get to the closest point, depending at what point they are when the emergency occurs. They may have to turn around or continue directly to the destination. It’s something that the engineers will figure out now. I still love those aircrafts. I think they are very comfortable and quiet compared to other models.
Their new motto is “Boeing: When one door closes, another opens”
Oh David!
Aloha.
Do you know what time the flight was from Sea to Kona on 12/13??