United announces that it found poorly screwed bolts during checks

Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft inspection delivers answers. The American airline United Airlines announced on Monday January 8 that it had discovered poorly screwed bolts during checks on the condemned doors of its Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, the same as the one torn off during an Alaska Airlines flight on Friday. “Since we began inspections on Saturday, we have made discoveries that appear to be related to problems with the installation of the panel blocking the doors (…) For example, bolts that needed to be tightened,” said the company, in a statement sent to AFP.

Locking certain doors is a configuration that Boeing offers to its customers when the number of existing emergency exits is already sufficient in relation to the number of seats in the aircraft. In addition to the 737 MAX 9, this device already exists on other Boeing models, notably the 737-900ER, launched in 2006 and which has not experienced any similar incidents since.

During an Alaska Airlines flight between Portland, Oregon and Ontario, California on Friday, the obstructed left door separated from the cabin mid-flight, causing the aircraft to depressurize. The American Civil Aviation Agency (FAA) then asked on Saturday the operators of the 171 MAX-9 planes with clogged doors to suspend them from flight and carry out a thorough inspection.