Missing Screws Likely Cause of Door Separation on Boeing Plane, U.S. Agency Says

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board stated that "the separation of a door from a Boeing 737 Max 9 mid-flight on January 5 was likely due to it missing four main screws." Legislators and aviation specialists are striving to determine the reason behind the door's separation from a new aircraft operated by Alaska Airlines, in an incident that has turned into a safety standards crisis and put Boeing's reputation at stake. The board's preliminary report noted that "photographic evidence published on Tuesday showed that there were no screws in the aircraft door previously removed to install screws that had been damaged during production." The report confirmed that "the investigation is ongoing to ascertain the manufacturing documents that were used to allow the door to open and close during the reinstallation of the screws." The Federal Aviation Administration grounded 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft for inspection following the incident, the majority of which are operated by U.S. airlines United Airlines and Alaska Airlines. These aircraft were allowed to return to service in late January. Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun stated: "Regardless of the final conclusions drawn, Boeing takes responsibility for what occurred. An incident like this should not happen on an aircraft leaving our factory."