Yesterday, I wrote a tip for travelers who are afraid to fly the 737 Max 9. This comes after the frightening January 5th incident that took place on Alaska Airlines shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon (PDX). At 16,000 feet, a 60-pound door plug blew out from a nearly new Boeing 737 MAX 9, leaving a gaping hole in the fuselage. Thankfully, no one was sitting in that seat or seriously injured. RELATED: Saturday Night Live’s Alaska Airlines Skit is Full of Zingers But They Should be Aimed at Boeing
What’s disturbing is that the Wall Street Journal wrote an investigative story two days ago that shows Boeing was at fault, not one of their suppliers. “Bolts needed to secure part of an Alaska Airlines jet that blew off in midair appear to have been missing when the plane left Boeing’s factory.”
Post by @wsjView on Threads
That’s complete negligence and raises serious questions up about Boeing. It also resurfaces Boeing’s problems from 2019. Six days ago, CBC reported: “That blowout has put the airplane manufacturer back on the defensive after years of trying to regain confidence following Max accidents in 2018 and 2019. Those involved a Lion Air plane crash in Indonesia that killed all 189 people on board and the Ethiopian Airlines crash, which killed 157 people. Those crashes led to an 18-month investigation by a U.S. House of Representatives panel that found in September 2020 that Boeing had failed in its design and development of the Max, as well as its transparency with the FAA. The House also found that the FAA failed in oversight and certification.”
The Los Angeles Times just published a new story that was a real eye-opener for me. According to the article: “I would absolutely not fly a Max airplane,” said Ed Pierson, a former Boeing senior manager. “I’ve worked in the factory where they were built, and I saw the pressure employees were under to rush the planes out the door. I tried to get them to shut down before the first crash.”
The L.A. Times also quoted Joe Jacobsen, a former engineer at Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration. Jacobsen said, “I would tell my family to avoid the Max. I would tell everyone, really.”
Yikes! Prior to this shocking revelation, I thought the 737 Max would be the safest plane in the sky but now I’m not so sure. How many more chances does Boeing get? The world can’t afford another tragedy. I know I’m not prepared to take the chance. I will not fly the 737 Max for at least six months.
In this article, Don’t Want to Fly on a Boeing 737 Max 9 Plane? Here are Three Easy Ways to Avoid It, I said that only two of my readers had emailed me to say they were afraid to fly the 737 Max but after this L.A. Times story, I think that number is going to skyrocket. I’m now one of them. If multiple employees from the inside tell you they wouldn’t fly an aircraft because they lack confidence in how it was built, then that’s enough for me to stay away from it. How about you? Have these revelations changed your mind about flying the 737 Max?
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So what are you supposed to do if your booked flight happens to be on a Max 9?
I wrote about options in this post
https://johnnyjet.com/dont-want-to-fly-on-a-boeing-737-max-9-plane-here-are-three-easy-ways-to-avoid-it/
Back when the 2018/2019 incidents happened, I decided that I would not fly on any plane that has “MAX” in its model name. This incident just reaffirmed that decision! For me, this will also include any future models with “MAX” in its name.
What are the findings now about the MAX 8?
Does this concern from former Boing Executives cover the Max 8 planes also, or just the Max 9??
I think all Max’s
A recent PBS documentary called: BOEING: FATAL FLAW, explored the very thing that these executives were talking about. Boeing used to be all about building great airplanes where safety for all concerned was priority one. A different multi-part documentary on the building of the 777 was clear that if some worker-bee on the assembly line spotted a problem, work stopped until it was resolved. Some of the problems that the cameras followed were seemingly pretty minor, BUT THEY WERE ADDRESSED. Now, according to the Fatal Flaw documentary, workers do not have a say anymore. Many of the people with tons of experience didn’t want to work like that and they left. The whole ballgame at Boeing now is profit, profit, and more profit.. Personally, I think at least some of the new mentality comes from the omnipresent fact that Airbus is eating Boeing’s lunch. Perhaps the old saying should change to, “IF IT’S THE MAX FROM BOEING, I AIN’T GOING.”
Alaska Airlines had a role in this as well that needs to be explored. The aircraft involved in the blowout incident was barred from flying over water because of a pressurization warning light issue. The decision to utilize that plane from Portland-Ontario was a key element leading to this emergency.