MALAYSIA may find itself in enmeshed in a new global aviation controversy following an incident involving a Boeing 737 Max 9 whose door tore apart during mid-flight over southwestern Portland in the US state of Oregon on January 5.
A schoolteacher, Bob Sauer, who found the door plug that fell off the unfortunate Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 onto a tree in his compound, took photographs of the object.
Among the details that he gave the American authorities and the media was that he had read the manufacturing details written on the object, a part of the plane’s fuselage.
According to a report by the Oregon Public Broadcasting on its news portal (www.opb.org), Sauer said the details clearly said that it was manufactured in Malaysia.
The report added that he was intrigued to see the door plug’s serial number and other manufacturing details apparently handwritten on the door in permanent marker.
“That’s an interesting way of doing inventory control,” he was quoted as saying.
The writing on the door plug says it was manufactured in Malaysia, the report said.
The OPB report is accompanied by a photograph of the writing which clearly states: “Made in Malaysia”.
Asked about the handwriting, Boeing reportedly said they could not address the issue because of active investigation by the US’ National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The Vibes is attempting to get Transport Minister Anthony Loke for comments on this matter.
Sauer described finding the door plug from the Boeing aircraft as a lot of luck.
He said that the huge trees which surround his home probably cushioned the impact of the door falling from an elevated height.
The 171 passengers and six crew members of the plane returned to Portland International Airport safely on Friday night (Pacific Standard Time), with no serious injuries reported.
They reportedly only complained of the ill effects of depressurisation as the pilots descended the aircraft which radioing the emergency status.
The plane landed safely at the same airport from where it had taken off earlier.
According to reports, the door plug had separated from the fuselage minutes after the plane had ascended from the airport earlier.
It is reported that the US has grounded 171 of the Boeing 737 Max 9 planes since the incident.
It is believed that many more of units this jetliner model are also not being flown by airline companies elsewhere as they await instructions on how to inspect them.
Meanwhile, CBS News reported that Boeing CEO and president Dave Calhoun admitted to employees in a meeting on Tuesday that the company was "acknowledging our mistake" after the door plug blew out in mid-air.
"We're going to approach this number one acknowledging our mistake," he said in the meeting, a Boeing spokesperson confirmed to CBS News.
"We're going to approach it with 100% and complete transparency every step of the way," the network reported Calhoun as saying.
"We are going to work with the NTSB who is investigating the accident itself to find out what the cause is. We have a long experience with this group. They're as good as it gets." – The Vibes, January 11, 2024
