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Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9
Photo: Lindsey Wasson / AP
Confidence in Boeing has been damaged following mishaps at the aircraft manufacturer, and the mistakes are now costly for the company. Boeing has already spent a lot of money because of the weeks-long shutdown of its 737 Max 9 aircraft after a near-miss in January.
In the last quarter, Boeing paid Alaska Airlines alone around $160 million in compensation for lost revenue and additional expenses. Further compensation is expected, but details are confidential, Alaska Airlines said in a statement.
Boeing could also face payments to other companies. In addition to Alaska Airlines, the major US airline United also had to ground many aircraft until the end of January.
In January, a virtually new Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 had a fuselage fragment that broke off in seat row 26 shortly after takeoff while climbing. The more than 170 people on board escaped with horror. However, it was only by a stroke of luck that the two seats near the hole in the fuselage remained empty, and the aircraft was still at a relatively low altitude.
Hole at United Jet too
According to initial investigations, the accident investigation authority NTSB assumes that four fastening bolts were missing from the fuselage part. There are indications that the fragment continued to slide up until it broke out on the machine's 154th flight, said NTSB chief Jennifer Homendy in a hearing in the US Senate. It is known that the fuselage fragment was removed and reinserted at the Boeing factory for rework. However, the company has not yet been able to find any documents about this and make them available to the investigators.
The broken part is just the culmination of a series of recent mishaps at Boeing. A United Boeing also landed in March with a hole in its exterior paneling, and the important 737 Max aircraft also failed dozens of safety tests.
Because of the major problems in production, the supervisory authorities are now taking a closer look, which also costs time and money. Boeing is under increased pressure to improve quality controls following the incident. CEO Dave Calhoun recently announced his retirement.
To make matters worse, the cockpit crew of a United Airlines flight in March has now reported possible technical defects. Before their plane skidded off a runway after landing at Houston airport last month, the brakes appeared to be less effective than usual, the pilot said. The aircraft and the brake pedals shook violently before the incident with the 737 Max occurred.
However, according to a preliminary NTSB report, the pilots were also uncertain about the ground conditions at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Shortly after the plane touched the runway, the captain deactivated the automatic brakes. "He did not initially decelerate excessively because the runway appeared dry, he wanted to shorten the time on the runway, and because he preferred to decelerate gradually for the comfort of the passengers," the NTSB said.
As the plane neared the end of the runway, the captain attempted to steer onto a taxiway while applying hard brake pedals, the agency said. The plane came off the runway.
The aircraft was severely damaged in the incident and the left main landing gear broke off. No one was injured and the cause of the accident has not yet been determined.
apr/dpa/AP