Images of the gaping fuselage hole that nearly caused disaster went viral — and the suing passengers told new terrifying stories of their experience after filing suit, including of a teen’s shirt nearly getting sucked out.

“We took off fine and then just five minutes, and we heard the loud pop,” passenger Kyle Rinker told KGW News, referring to a door plug blowing off, creating a gaping hole in the 737 MAX 9 plane.

“We were just sitting there trying to relax and then, that thing just happens. The oxygen masks come down, just like, ‘Oh, wow, something’s going on. We got to get these on.’”

“The wind just came rushing it. It was very, very cold all of the sudden, obviously, because you’re flying up there at 16,000 feet,” he added.

Rinker and his girlfriend Amanda Strickland, along with another passenger Kevin Kwok, late last month filed the lawsuit in Multnomah County, Oregon, on behalf of passengers aboard Alaskan Airlines flight 1282.

It alleges the defendants ignored obvious warning signs and that fight should have never taken off.

Rinker and Strickland, both of Portland, sat two rows behind 15-year-oldJack, who lost his shirt during the snafu.

During the flight, Rinker posted images on X of the chaos.

“This is mostly about the systemic problems at Boeing, which is jeopardizing the lives of the entire traveling public who travel on Boeing aircraft,” said the plaintiffs’ lawyer Jonathan Johnson. “They should not be trusting luck to avoid a planeload of people being killed.”

Johnson said that although the aircraft manufacturer acknowledged their role in the blowout and vowed to fix such problems from happening in the future, the lawsuit will push both companies to prioritize safety.

Read the full story originally published on nypost.com

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Julio Alvarez Lopez was arrested on Jan. 24 at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas and charged with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon after the bloody altercation.

Lopez allegedly planned an attack to kill a fellow passenger, which he attempted to carry out mid-flight on the trip between Seattle and Las Vegas using the makeshift weapon.

The suspect was described as ‘fidgety’ throughout the flight while traveling from Seattle to Las Vegas last month, according to documents obtained by 8 News Now. 

When returning to his seat after an unusually long visit to the restrooms, he began ‘punching and hitting’ the man seated across the aisle, attempting to stab him in the eye, according to the outlet.

Lopez also allegedly attacked the victim’s wife as she attempted to protect their 7-year-old child from the violent man.

A witness told investigators there ‘was blood everywhere.’

‘During the altercation, [the victim’s] wife was screaming at the defendant to stop hitting her husband,’ an FBI agent wrote in a court filing. ‘[A witness] unbuckled her seatbelt and yelled at the defendant to stop.

An official on board the flight ordered Lopez to take a seat while crew then ‘worked to provide flex cuffs and the defendant was restrained for the remainder of the flight.’

Following the brutal attack, Lopez started ‘screaming, ‘I’ll only talk to the FBI.’

He told airport officials during an interview that he allegedly ‘felt the mafia had been chasing him’ and that he had never seen the victim ‘but planned on killing [him]’ as he believed he was being followed, documents said.

Investigators found the weapon, composed of pens and rubber bands, according to documents.

A federal grand jury indicted Lopez on an assault charge Wednesday.

The attack is the latest in high-profile incidents involving Alaska Airlines. Yesterday, Boeing has reportedly fired the chief of its 737 Max program following the Alaska Airlines plane scandal, which exposed a litany of safety failings.
Ed Clark, vice president of the MAX program and general manager at the Renton facility, is leaving the company after 18 years.

He is set to be replaced by Katie Ringgold, the current vice president 737 delivery operations.’

It comes after a faulty door plug caused a panel to detach at 16,000 feet from a Boeing 737 series aircraft on an Alaska Airlines flight on January 5. The plane was assembled at the Renton facility.

Read the full story originally published on dailymail.co.uk

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A picture of the plane in a factory in Renton, Washington, revealed the lack of bolts, the NTSB said.

“Photo documentation obtained from Boeing shows evidence of the left-hand MED plug closed with no retention hardware (bolts) in the three visible locations,” the report said, using an acronym for the middle exit door.

However, it was not clear at what stage in the manufacturing process the plane was in when the photo was taken.

The faulty plug was manufactured by Spirit AeroSystems Malaysia on March 24, 2023, and was received at Spirit AeroSystems Wichita on May 10, 2023, the report said. The plug was then installed and rigged on the Spirit AeroSystems Fuselage Line 8789 before it was shipped to Boeing on Aug. 20, 2023. The fuselage arrived at Boeing’s Renton facility on Aug. 31, 2023, according to the report.

In a statement Tuesday, Boeing said it appreciates the NTSB’s work and will review the findings “expeditiously” while continuing to cooperate with investigations by the NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration.

“Whatever final conclusions are reached, Boeing is accountable for what happened,” Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun said in the statement. “An event like this must not happen on an airplane that leaves our factory. We simply must do better for our customers and their passengers. We are implementing a comprehensive plan to strengthen quality and the confidence of our stakeholders. It will take significant, demonstrated action and transparency at every turn — and that is where we are squarely focused.”

The flight, carrying 177 people, left Portland, Oregon, on Jan. 5 bound for Ontario International Airport in San Bernardino County, California, when the door plug blew off, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the aircraft. Many passengers described hearing a “loud bang” shortly after takeoff. A photo from one passenger showed a panel missing from the side of the fuselage. The plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon.

The FAA grounded all 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 airplanes operating in the U.S. amid the NTSB’s investigation. The FAA also said it was increasing its oversight of Boeing production and manufacturing.

In his testimony to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee on Tuesday, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker offered more details on the increased scrutiny now underway at Boeing.

“We’re proposing to expand the oversight approach to include both audits and inspection which is why we’re moving inspectors into the facilities,” Whitaker said. “We know what we need to do next, which is to have more on-the-ground presence to verify what’s going on.”

Read the full story originally published on nbcnews

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Our company’s annual payout, called Performance Based Pay (PBP), is determined by our performance towards specific company-wide goals for safety, guest experience, sustainability and profit.

Despite facing our share of headwinds last year, we once again delivered an excellent operation from start to finish. As a result, employees earned an above-target PBP payout for the third year in a row and 16th time in the 21-year history of PBP. This equates to more than 6 percent of most employees’ annual pay last year.

Credit to our employees, who are the strength of our airline,” said CEO Ben Minicucci. “I am especially pleased that we exceeded our targets in both Safety and Guest Satisfaction, which directly reflect the care, attention to detail, and the quality of work that our people deliver every day.”

The PBP payout is in addition to the approximately $30 million in 2023 operational bonuses that employees earned for achieving monthly on-time and customer satisfaction goals. The combined monthly and annual 2023 payouts paid to employees totals $200 million.

As an added way of saying thank you, we also awarded four one-way confirmed travel passes for every eligible employee at the company. These passes can be used anywhere throughout our network—like these new & exciting leisure destinations below

Employees asked for better travel perks, and we listened.

While most airline programs offer travel privileges to parents and dependent children, we realized we had an opportunity to improve our program to reflect our diverse workforce with a variety of family structures. We already extend travel privileges to one spouse or partner as well as all dependent children plus two parents for every employee, and now we’re expanding the definition of loved ones.

We are one of the first airlines to allow greater flexibility in who can access our employee travel program. Beginning this month, employees are able to designate up to two people in lieu of parents to enjoy their travel privileges. This means that employees can now extend any unused parent travel benefits privileges to adult children, friends, siblings or anyone special to them. What’s so special about this change is that the idea came directly from our employees.

For the inaugural year of this expanded program, 43% of our employees have taken advantage of the change and added new loved ones to their travel privileges.

More ways to fly

In addition to unlimited standby travel, we are always looking for more ways to encourage our employees to take to the skies. On average, every year—including 2024—we gift our employees two roundtrip tickets anywhere Alaska flies.

Read the full originally published story on alaskaair.com

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Alaska Airlines has completed final inspections on its first group of 737-9 MAX aircraft as the company moves forward to return the fleet to commercial service. Airline officials say they will resume flying the 737-9 MAX with Flight 1146 from Seattle to San Diego on Friday, January 26.

On January 24, the Federal Aviation Administration approved the company’s detailed inspection and maintenance process for the 737-9 MAX to return to flying. Alaska Airlines technicians began inspections that night. Airline officials say they expect inspections on its 737-9 MAX to be completed by the end of next week, allowing Alaska Airlines to resume its full flight schedule.

Each of its 737-9 MAX will return to service only after rigorous inspections are completed and each plane is deemed airworthy according to Federal Aviation Administration requirements. Individual inspections are expected to take up to twelve hours per aircraft.

Alaska Airlines officials say they are grateful to the company’s skilled maintenance and engineering team that is shouldering the inspection work and safely returning the planes to service. Company officials also expressed gratitude to all Alaska Airlines employees who continue to help support its guests.

News Source: akbizmag.com

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It is the first revenue flight for this model since the Federal Aviation Administration grounded the Boeing jets three weeks ago following a door plug blowout on Alaska Airlines flight 1282.

Alaska Airlines COO Constance von Muehlen took the flight and sat in the seat next to the door plug, telling CNN she has full confidence in the aircraft.

Sarah Edgbert was not aware that the flight she was taking was on a 737 Max 9 plane until she got to her gate and saw news crews.

She said she felt anxious at first. “But then realizing it’s probably the safest plane out there right now, it’s been through lots of tests since then,” Edgbert said.

“I am not going to stop doing what I do,” Kent, who did not want to give his last name, said. “I am not going to change my habits for it, and I am going to be hoping that something bad doesn’t happen.”

Doug Bowman didn’t know that he’d be boarding a Max 9 plane until he was informed by CNN, but said he had “important things, engagements to get back to” in San Diego.

The flight left with a delay because the plane itself — tail number N929AK — was late arriving in Seattle. It is expected to land in San Diego around 9pm ET.

Alaska and United Airlines — the two US carriers operating this version of Boeing’s latest 737 generation — have been canceling hundreds of flights daily since the Max 9 was grounded. The airlines provided data that helped the FAA and Boeing refine inspection procedures to ensure the planes are safe to fly. The carriers started performing the actual inspections soon after the FAA issued instructions late Wednesday.

The first flight is one of three flights Alaska Airlines has scheduled on Max 9 jets for Friday. United Airlines said its first Max 9 flight is scheduled for Sunday — but that cleared Max 9s are available in the meantime as spares if another plane is unavailable.

Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said Thursday he is not concerned with passengers avoiding the Max 9.

“Our anticipation is when our Max 9 gets back up that we will fill our airplanes,” he said.

News Source: cnn.com

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In 2023, several airlines around the world have emerged as the safest options for travelers. Let’s delve into the Top 20 safest airlines in the world, as ranked by Airline Rankings, and explore the criteria used to determine their safety.

What makes an airline safe?

Determining the safety of an airline involves a complex analysis of multiple factors. According to Geoffrey Thomas the editor-in-chief for Airline Rankings, their editors employ a comprehensive methodology. They analyze:

• Crashes in the last 5 years: The number of crashes an airline has experienced over the past five years is a crucial indicator of its safety performance. Few or no crashes demonstrate a commitment to safety.
• Serious incidents within a two-year period: While crashes are the most severe safety events, serious incidents like engine failures, emergency landings, or near-miss situations also play a role in assessing an airline’s safety.
• Inspections conducted by aviation regulatory authorities: Regulatory agencies and industry associations conduct regular audits to assess an airline’s adherence to safety standards and procedures.
• Fleet age: Older aircraft may have more wear and tear, increasing the risk of mechanical failures. A young fleet is often seen as a safety advantage.
• Assessment of pilot training: Well-trained and experienced pilots are a cornerstone of flight safety. Airlines with rigorous pilot training programs score higher in safety assessments.
• COVID protocols: In the post-pandemic world, airlines’ response to health and safety measures is also a significant consideration.

With these criteria in mind, let’s take a closer look at the Top 20 safest airlines in the world for 2023:

1. Qantas

Country: Australia
Commenced operations: November 2, 1922
Qantas achieved a remarkable safety milestone with its last fatal crash occurring back in 1951. Since that time, over 70 years have passed without any fatal accidents being recorded by the airline.

2. Air New Zealand

Country: New Zealand
Commenced operations: April 1, 1965
Air New Zealand is renowned for its commitment to safety and excellent service, making it a top choice for travelers.

3. Etihad Airways

Country: United Arab Emirates
Commenced operations: November 2003
Etihad Airways maintains a strong safety track record, providing peace of mind to passengers.

4. Qatar Airways

Country: Qatar
Commenced operations: January 20, 1994
Qatar Airways is recognized for its modern fleet and adherence to safety standards.

5. Singapore Airlines

Country: Singapore
Commenced operations: October 1, 1972
Singapore Airlines is known for its impeccable safety record and high-quality service.

6. TAP Air Portugal

Country: Portugal
Commenced operations: September 19, 1946
TAP Air Portugal has been steadily climbing the safety rankings, thanks to its rigorous safety protocols.

7. Emirates

Country: United Arab Emirates
Commenced operations: October 25, 1985
Emirates, one of the world’s largest airlines, consistently prioritizes safety, making it a popular choice for travelers.

8. Alaska Airlines

Country: United States
Commenced operations: June 6, 1944
As one of the safest airlines in the US, Alaska Airlines has a strong safety culture.

9. EVA Air

Country: Taiwan
Commenced operations: July 1, 1991
EVA Air or Evergreen Airways is known for its modern fleet and dedication to passenger safety.

10. Virgin Australia/Atlantic

Country: Australia/United Kingdom
Commenced operations: Virgin Australia August 29, 2011, and Atlantic June 22, 1984
The Virgin Group airlines Virgin Australia and Virgin Atlantic place a strong emphasis on safety, offering reliable travel experiences.

11. Cathay Pacific Airways

Country: Hong Kong
Commenced operations: September 24, 1946
Cathay Pacific Airways maintains an excellent safety record, assuring travelers of their well-being.

12. Hawaiian Airlines

Country: United States
Commenced operations: October 6, 1929
Hawaiian Airlines is a trusted choice for those traveling to and from Hawaii, known for its safety measures.

13. SAS (Scandinavian Airlines)

Country: Sweden/Norway/Denmark
Commenced operations: August 1, 1946
SAS is recognized for its commitment to safety, serving travelers in Scandinavia and beyond.

14. United Airlines

Country: United States
Commenced operations: March 28, 1931
United Airlines is one of the largest carriers in the world, and its safety record reflects its dedication to passenger well-being.

15. Lufthansa Group airlines

Country: Germany
Commenced operations: April 1, 1955
Lufthansa Group airlines, operating under one umbrella, prioritize safety and passenger satisfaction.

16. Finnair

Country: Finland
Commenced operations: November 1, 1923
Finnair is a reliable choice for European and international travel, with a strong safety record.

17. British Airways

Country: United Kingdom
Commenced operations: August 25, 1919
British Airways has a long history of safety and provides a comfortable travel experience.

18. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

Country: The Netherlands
Commenced operations: October 7, 1919
KLM’s commitment to safety and service has earned it a place among the Top 20 safest airlines.

19. American Airlines

Country: United States
Commenced operations: June 25, 1936
As a major United States carrier, American Airlines emphasizes safety to ensure passenger confidence.

20. Delta Air Lines

Country: United States
Commenced operations: June 17, 1929
Delta Air Lines rounds out the list, known for its focus on safety and customer service.

When it comes to choosing the best airline for your travels, safety should always be a top priority. The Top 20 safest airlines in the world in 2023, as ranked by Airline Rankings, have demonstrated their commitment to passenger safety through their excellent safety records, rigorous training programs, and adherence to industry standards.

Whether you’re embarking on a short domestic flight or a long-haul international journey, these airlines provide peace of mind, making your travel experience as safe and enjoyable as possible. So, if you fear flying, rest assured that these airlines have your safety at heart, allowing you to focus on the excitement of your journey rather than the fear of the flight.

Read Full Originally Published story on www.aerotime.aero

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