Federal officials on Saturday ordered the immediate grounding of Boeing 737-9 Max jetliners after an Alaska Airlines plane suffered a blowout that left a gaping hole in the side of the fuselage.
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An Alaska Airlines jetliner blew out a window and a portion of its fuselage shortly after takeoff three miles above Oregon late Friday, creating a gaping hole that forced the pilots to make an emergency landing as its 174 passengers and six crew members donned oxygen masks.
No one was seriously hurt as the depressurized plane returned safely to Portland International Airport about 20 minutes after it had departed, but the airline grounded its 65 Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft until they can be inspected. The National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday it will also investigate.
Keep in mind that aviation travel is ultra safe high risk. What that means is that it’s extremely safe due to the number of failsafe and redundancy built into the aircrafts. The high risk portion is due to the fact that in the event of a critical failure, the risk of death is high.
In the event of a critical failure it is ultimately up to the pilot to determine the aircraft is safe to fly during all the pre flight checks that need to be completed before takeoff. An incident rarely ever is a simple source but a layer of bad oversights. Most incidents can be prevented by doing the job correctly.
I’m a GA pilot (general aviation) and this stuff had been drilled into us for even private pilot certifications. Safety, safety, safety. I think that some newer aircraft maybe need more thorough testing before being released to fly. I also think that airline companies need to listen to the pilots more than they say they do.