2024-01-07 15:15:12
However, the device was almost new, assembled in 2023 and certified by the FAA, the American Aviation Administration, in November. However, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 almost fell apart in mid-flight, with part of its fuselage suddenly detaching and taking a window with it. If the incident miraculously caused no injuries, the plane making an emergency landing at Portland airport, it is of great concern to Boeing, the airlines and air safety.
Because this is not the first incident for the 737 Max, to the point of starting to build a reputation as a cursed plane. 20 Minutes retraces for you the history of this feverish giant.
Two deadly crashes
In the mid-2010s, Boeing needed a new flagship aircraft to compete with the wildly popular Airbus A320. This will be the 737 Max, announced as a revolution in 2015 and put into service in 2017. The plane is equipped with new engines, which allow a reduction in fuel consumption of around 15% compared to the previous generation. of Boeing 737. It also has a piloting system intended to avoid stalling, the MCAS, of sad memory.
It is in fact this system which is implicated in two Boeing 737 Max crashes. On October 29, 2018, a Lion Air 737 Max 8, delivered two months earlier, crashed into the sea thirteen minutes after taking off from Jakarta, causing the death of 181 passengers and eight crew members. The day before, the device had already encountered an incident with MCAS. A few months later, on March 10, 2019, another 737 Max 8, belonging to Ethiopian Airlines, crashed six minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa, killing all 149 passengers and eight crew members.
Production stopped, planes grounded
In the days following this second crash, almost all national authorities banned the 737 Max from flying, a measure sometimes applied as a precaution by the airlines themselves. More than twenty months will pass without a 737 Max in the sky. Boeing is also forced to stop production in 2020 while it resolves the malfunctions of its aircraft.
Furthermore, a report from the American Congress highlights cover-ups and conflicts of interest between Boeing and the FAA. The manufacturer will pay $2.5 billion to avoid prosecution. The FAA finally authorized the 737 Max to return to the air in November 2020, followed by the European authority in January 2021, the MCAS software having been updated.
Bolt problems
But this is not the end of the troubles for the 737 Max. In December 2023, following a routine check, a bolt without a nut was discovered on an aircraft, endangering the rudder control system. The manufacturer quickly issues information to all airlines to inspect their aircraft. Subsequently, Boeing spotted a bolt “not properly tightened” on a plane that had not yet been delivered.
This concern, coupled with the Alaska Airlines detached fuselage incident, has prompted many airlines to ground their aircraft again. This is particularly the case for United Airlines, Aeromexico, Copa Airlines and Turkish Airlines. The FAA has ordered the “immediate inspection” of 171 examples of the 737 Max 9 out of 218 delivered worldwide. The operation takes between four and eight hours by plane.
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