‘Very fortunate’ Alaska Airlines’ Boeing 737 Max 9 incident did not turn tragic: US transport safety chief

The chairman of the United States’ National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it was “very, very fortunate” that a tragedy did not materialise after a cabin panel blew out on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 on Jan 5, which forced the aircraft to make an emergency landing. NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said the two seats next to the portion of fuselage that blew out were unoccupied. “We are very, very fortunate here that this didn’t end up in something more tragic,” she added. Parts of the seat next to the fuselage, including the head rest, were missing. Investigators will look at maintenance records, the pressurisation system and the door components, she said. “We’ll go where the investigation takes us,” she said, asking for the public’s help in recovering the missing door plug, which is believed to be in a suburb west of Portland. A piece of fuselage tore off the left side of the jet as it climbed following takeoff from Portland, Oregon, en route to Ontario, California, forcing pilots to turn back and land safely with all 171 passengers and six crew on board. The FAA on Jan 6 ordered certain Max 9 aircraft grounded temporarily for inspections before returning to flight.<br/>