Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

The US FAA has grounded 171 Boeing planes after a piece fell off one in mid flight.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-67903655

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Last time any of those people on board will get on a plane, I'm sure. Especially the guy who had his shift ripped off him... F that!

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

It's the kind of thing which happens so rarely it's big news when it does.


Statistically air travel is very safe, getting in a car and going to the supermarket is probably more likely to get involved in an accident. Of course, when a plane crashes, it's more likely to seriously injure or kill a lot more people but then that's the case if a bus crashes as opposed to a car too.


This looks to be some sort of manufacturing defect - it is noticeable that the shape ripped off is a door shape, and that Alaska got their 737s without an optional door in that place. It's possible the process of converting that was defective and maybe it wouldn't be something that might be picked up in maintenance. When you're travelling a long way up and at speed the pressurisation is much different so anything which could be weaker may well pop over time.

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Commercial flights are by far the safest per mile travelled (Motorbikes are the least safe).
Private flights however have a poor record, they are the second worst, so if your going to fly, do it on a commercial flight.

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

The door that failed was blocked as its not used on the seat configuration used.


The plane was only 2 months old.


As has been said, you have more chance dying on the way to the airport than flying to your destination.

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Unless you’re flying in a Boeing 737 max, which has a greater than average chance of crashing itself or jettisoning bits of its fuselage at random.

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

I'd go along with that analysis. The original configuration with a door would have been thoroughly modeled and tested, may be the conversion wasn't.

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

The door that blew out is apparenly held on by 4 bolts, that really doesnt sound like many.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67906367

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Well…. Yeah.

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

As mentioned in another thread, I’m an “Aircrash investigation” obsessive.

It may interest you to know that the tail of the Airbus A300, the Airbus equivalent to the 737, is only held on by three bolts.

And in 2001 a pilot over stressed the tail ( or vertical stabiliser) by wiggling the plane to avoid wake turbulence from the plane in front, and it sheared off.

The plane crashed killing all 260 on board.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americ...nes_Flight_587

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/...fig1_279693318

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Wow ..... my front door is held in place by more bolts.

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

I bet your door wouldn’t withstand 900 kilonewtons before flying off :D

(The tail fin of that Airbus withstood more than doubled its design tolerance before failing - the ‘wiggling’ Pierre described was actually a series of extremely violent and excessive control inputs by the plane’s first officer, who had been poorly trained on how to escape the emergency situation they were in).

In the present case, Boeing has allowed yet another flawed 737 Max 9 out of the factory. The type is turning out to be a disaster. Netflix’s damning documentary on the company (Downfall: The case against Boeing) is well worth watching. It focuses on the software issue that caused the autopilot to crash more than one of them and concludes that the corporate culture at Boeing has gone rotten, killing off the safety culture the company used to be famous for.

The blanking plate installed in this aircraft where there would otherwise have been an optional emergency door is either badly designed, or else its installation at the factory was botched and then quality control failed to pick it up. Either possibility is unnerving.

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

I not about to test that theory, it did withstand storms Gerrit and Henk. :)

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Definitely, I’ve watched it and a couple of others too.

It wasn’t so much the software issue, which was an attitude correcting program. The plane flew fine, if you knew how to fly it. As always it was about the money.

History…..Because the 737 airframe is essentially the same one for 55 years, but engines have changed, and for modern engines to fit the 55 year old frame they have to be slung way forward, therefore making the plane slightly unstable.

Boeing fixed this with software, as Chris says, but they filed the change as BAU, therefore not requiring retraining of pilots, because that is very expensive. So pilots did not not know that this software would make corrections to the plane’s attitude independently of the pilots inputs.

So, when you took off, you had the plane pulling up, so the pilot pushed down, and vice versa, which led to two crashes.

It was simply cost cutting over safety. Unforgivable, especially in aviation.

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

This morning’s developments:

- this specific aircraft had pinged pressurisation warnings in the cockpit on multiple occasions and Alaska Airlines had restricted it from long-haul flights over water in case it needed to land quickly.
- a teacher called Bob found the missing piece of fuselage in his back garden in Portland.
- an iPhone sucked out of the cabin during the emergency has been found, in working order.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-67909417

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

If I was an AA customer, I wouldn't be very happy with that mitigation!

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Because drivers STILL don’t look for motorcyclists….

AKA SMIDSY

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

But they don't look out for planes either

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6-GV_gGYtM

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

United Airlines finds loose bolts….

https://news.sky.com/story/united-ai...tions-13044409

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Loose bolts on new planes, really bad.

Also,
Thats the first Ive seen about any injuries on the plane.

Yes its good everyone is ok!!

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

I suspect that's lost in translation from "None of the 171 passengers and six crew members was seriously injured.". A 178 seat plane would have 4 cabin crew members plus 2 pilots.

But it was extraordinarily lucky to have an empty seat by the panel that blew if 171 out of 178 seats were occupied.

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

https://www.opb.org/article/2024/01/...s-over-oregon/

This matches with the Airline’s website

https://news.alaskaair.com/alaska-ai...tions/as-1282/

This is why (after reading about a similar occurrence a number of years ago, Aloha Airlines Flight 243) I always have my seatbelt on when sitting in my plane seat…

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

However some good scientific research

Apple has become the first smartphone manufacturer to pass the three-mile drop test.

https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/...ne_16000_drop/

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Interesting question: when booking a flight, if the plane is a 737 Max, would you still go on that flight?

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

I dont think you can atm, arent they still grounded ?

(The affected models, which seems to be a subset).

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

When they are cleared to fly again, which will happen, would you fly on one?

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Yet another reason not to fly ryanair - as if you needed one.

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Its not like you get given a choice, but yes, since they have all been closely inspected, why not.

[ I dont think any in the UK are the affected model anyway ? ]

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Ryan Air have a fleet of 737-MAX

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

But in the high density configuration that has a real emergency exit, not a plug.

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

I believe they may all be Max-8. The affected aircraft is Max-9.

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Seems Fair.

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...0&d=1705006480

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Seems the FAA are far from impressed.

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

“Additional discrepancies” sounds ominous … :erm:

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Probibly explains it.

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...1&d=1705094696

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Well, you know what they say…

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...9&d=1705331013

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Problem fixed

https://www.cableforum.uk/board/atta...chmentid=30851

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Four bolts were missing from the panel that blew out of the Alaska Airlines B737, The US NTSB finds.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68220627

A shocking failure of manufacturing process, quality control, and regulatory oversight. Many heads should roll.

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Seems they were removed after initial manufacture & fitting.

Thats insane.... They must not have tightenend them all the way!!

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

From the post above yours

Pretty challenging to tighten something that isn’t there…

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Doesn't help when the new way of working is that great engineers of the past have been replaced with bean counters who cut corners and go for cheapest manufacturing possible.

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

my last job was in aviation, all repairs were check by an inspector, flaps and over moving parts were checked by 2

Re: Boeing 737 Planes Grounded
 

Seems it a No from a few ex-Boing employees:

https://www.businessinsider.com/form...737-max-2024-1