Author: Close the curtains.
On January 6, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 passenger plane "flew out of the door" during the climb phase. The "false door", located in the middle and rear of the fuselage, burst out during pressurization, and the straps broke off some of the inner bulkheads. There were reports that some of the passengers' belongings were sucked out, and the passenger plane made an emergency return and landed safely.
Pictured: The hatch flew off the network**.
Modern airliners are gradually pressurized as the altitude rises to ensure passenger comfort. As a result, the cabin is roughly sealed, expanding and shrinking like a balloon with each takeoff and landing. The scientific name of the "false door" is "door plug", and when using a high-density layout, a safety door is installed here, and if it is not needed, it is blocked, and there is no trace of the hatch from the inside.
The 737 Max 9 in question had just been delivered and there were no repairs involved, so it was mostly an assembly issue with Boeing. In view of the gravity of the case, the FAA immediately halted all 737 Max 9 in the country. Other countries are starting to follow suit, such as Turkey, Mexico and Panama.
Figure: Illustration of the location of the false door network**.
The 737 MAX is the latest series of the Boeing 737The full range includes the 737 Max 7, Max 8, Max 9 and Max 10, and the Max 7 and Max 10 have not yet been delivered to users. In 2018 and 2019, two 737 Max 8s (737-8) crashed and caused tragic accidents**.
The 737-8 is now back on sale, with 218 deliveries of the 737-9 and major customers including United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Aeromexico, Copa Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Lion Air Group, Fly Dubai, Kazakhstan's SCAT, Air Tanzania and the Dutch Colondon Airlines – most of which are now grounded.
Picture: Lion Air is a real door that does not need to be grounded on the network**.
Companies such as Lion Air and Cologdon are not grounded, mainly because they are low-cost airlines. The 737-9 used by low-cost airlines uses a high-density cabin, and in order to meet the needs of safe evacuation, it does not use "false doors" but is installed with real doors. Judging by the current situation, the "flying door" may be related to the quality of the blocking, so they are not worried.
But the problem is still puzzling, because in the previous 737-900er era, many companies also blocked unwanted safety doors. These aircraft have been operating smoothly for more than a decade now, and no similar failures have been heard. Whether the 737-900ER was upgraded to 737-9 was updated with "blocking technology" is currently the focus of the question.
Pictured: The 737-900ER has been operating safely for many years Photo: Draw the curtains.
If it is a batch failure caused by a design change, the impact will be relatively large, and eighty percent of the 218 737-9 are not low-cost airlines, and the safety doors have been blocked, and I am afraid they will have to be recalled and modified. Such products that have already been completed and have not yet been delivered have to be reworked. What if it is a case caused by poor construction?- It looks simple, but the problem may be bigger.
If it is a case caused by poor construction, people will question Boeing's overall quality control. Boeing has fallen behind in the competition with Airbus, has suffered a lot in terms of lax management. Boeing also suffered heavy losses in the early days of the pandemic, laying off a lot of people. Two years ago, a large number of people were recruited, and now there are many novices in the whole company, which may have buried hidden dangers for mistakes.
Figure: Mainly influencing trust networks**.
In fact, someone has already begun to quality Boeing's "corporate culture". Corporate culture is the lifeline of the company in the West, and good company employees have high enthusiasm, strong sense of responsibility and cooperationAnd when the corporate culture is decadent, everyone has to get by, like to do superficial things, complain and sarcasm each other. To change the cultural style of the enterprise, it is not an overnight effort.
If there is really a problem with the "corporate culture", then Boeing's problems will be troublesome. Today it is manifested as the hatch flying off, tomorrow the thrust reverser may fail, and the day after tomorrow the landing gear may not be able to be put down. In short, if there is a problem with quality control, anything can happen. Therefore, from this point of view, this failure is "not a crash, it is better than a crash".
Pictured: Malay has requested a 737 Max 8 network to be checked**.
There are already people who are worried about this. Malaysia Airlines has just taken delivery of two 737-8s, and now the Malaysian Civil Aviation Authority has also issued a directive to conduct safety checks. There is no "false door" on 737-8 this time on 737-9, what to check?If something goes wrong, will it lead to a new crisis?
If a new crisis is triggered, it will also be bad for China. China has a large number of 737 pilots, and if the delivery of the 737-8 is delayed again, many people will have no chance to fly in the future, their income will be reduced, the mortgage will not be repaid, and the economy will be in trouble, and they will ......