2024-03-14 10:21:18
Boeing, the American aeronautics giant, announced on Tuesday that it was strengthening its safety and quality procedures after a series of incidents. Two deadly 737 Max accidents in 2018 and 2019 have already plunged the company into a deep crisis, but a door torn off in mid-flight in January and other incidents further tarnish its reputation. A look back at serial failures.
Black streak for Boeing. John Barnett, a former employee of the American aeronautics giant, was found dead Monday March 11 in the parking lot of a hotel in Charleston, South Carolina, with “self-inflicted” wounds, according to authorities.
Retired since 2017, John Barnett became a whistleblower, speaking out on safety issues at Boeing. He was in the middle of a lawsuit against his former employer after his retirement for health reasons. A police investigation is underway to determine the exact circumstances of the death.
His death comes as the aerospace giant has been in turmoil since the start of the year – the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said on Thursday it could withdraw certain approvals if necessary – especially after the door of a 737 Max-9 fell in mid-flight in January.
This incident completed the list of setbacks of the Arlington group, which have accumulated in recent years and notably involve this model. The crashes of two aircraft in 2018 and 2019, causing a total of 346 deaths, marked a tragic turning point. A look back at these repeated incidents.
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2018-2019: two Boeing 737 Max crashes kill nearly 350 people
On October 29, 2018, a Boeing 737 Max crashed into the Java Sea, thirteen minutes after taking off from Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. The aircraft, operated by the Indonesian company Lion Air, was flying between Soekarno-Hatta Airport and Depati Amir Airport in Pangkal Pinang, on Bangka Island.
No survivors were found among the 189 people on board, including eight crew members. This disaster constitutes the first major accident involving a Boeing 737 Max, the latest version of the Boeing 737 series introduced in 2017. The failure of a sensor on the plane is being blamed.
Five months later, on March 10, 2019, a new tragedy occurred. The Boeing 737 Max 8 operating Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 from Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) to Nairobi (Kenya) crashes six minutes after takeoff. All 157 people on board the plane, from 35 different countries, were killed instantly, making this accident the deadliest in the history of Ethiopian Airlines and the worst air disaster to occur in Ethiopia. As of March 13, the American aviation authorities (FAA) announce the flight suspension of the Boeing 737 Max.
Read alsoThe crash of the Boeing 737 Max, a catastrophe with a taste of déjà vu?
After several months, Indonesian investigators noted flaws in the design of the Boeing 737 Max flight control system and inadequate pilot training.
Boeing’s executive boss, Dennis Muilenburg, resigned in December 2019. The American aircraft manufacturer then believes that a change of direction is essential to restore confidence in the group. Boeing only resumes production of the 737 Max in May 2020 and is authorized to resume flights at the end of 2020 by the Brazilian company Gol.
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Between 2021 and 2023, new incidents on other models
Just a few minutes after taking off from the Indonesian capital on January 9, 2021, a Boeing 737-500 carrying 62 people and operated by the company Sriwijaya Air fell almost 3,000 meters into the sea off the coast of Jakarta. In a final report made public in November 2022, investigators blame the crash – which left no survivors – on a chain of mechanical problems and pilot negligence.
On April 25, 2023, an American Airlines Boeing 737-800 encountered an incident – without causing any casualties. After 39 minutes of flight, a fire broke out on board after a collision with a bird. This caused a fire to break out in one of the reactors, forcing the pilot to turn around and make an emergency landing. The flight, which was to connect Columbus (Ohio) to Phoenix (Arizona), returned its 173 passengers unharmed to their point of departure.
American Airlines Boeing 737-800 (N972NN, built 2015) safely returned to land at Columbus-Intl AP (KCMH), OH after flames and smoke was seen coming from the right engine. Flight #AA1958 to Phoenix landed back on runway 28L 25 minutes after take-off. No one was hurt. @Cbus4Life… pic.twitter.com/YsAxsJ3D1O
— JACDEC (@JacdecNew) April 23, 2023
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January 2024: a door torn off in mid-flight
A new resounding incident occurred on January 5, 2024 on a 737 Max: while the Alaska Airlines plane had been flying for six minutes, a door opened and detached from the cabin. The aircraft, which is carrying 171 passengers and six crew members, is then at an altitude of nearly 5,000 meters, according to data from the FlightAware website.
The spectacular images of the incident, which left only minor injuries, show a gaping hole in the sky and are going around the world. Fortunately no one is sitting in the two seats located next to the partition which flew away. “It was really brutal. As soon as I reached altitude, the window panel came off and I only noticed it when the oxygen masks came off,” said a passenger on the flight, Kyle Rinker, to the American channel CNN.
The CEO of Boeing, Dave Calhoun, then recognized “an error”. A preliminary federal investigation indicates that four bolts supposed to secure the door were missing. They had been removed to carry out repairs to the cabin of the plane, which entered service in November.
This incident causes the temporary grounding of some 737 Max aircraft across the country, followed by U.S. Congressional hearings, delays in production and delivery, and several federal investigations, including an investigation criminal. According to information revealed by The Independentthree passengers are seeking a billion dollars in damages.
The audit carried out on the production of the 737 Max shows 33 failures out of 89 tests and 97 cases of alleged non-compliance, according to the New York Times. At the end of February, the American aviation authorities, the FAA, gave the aircraft manufacturer 90 days to present a plan to resolve “systemic quality control problems”. The company’s stock price has fallen by a quarter of its value this year, leading to a more than $40 billion reduction in Boeing’s market capitalization.
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Late January-early February 2024: breakdowns, blockages and failures
But the bad news doesn’t stop there for Boeing. A few days later, on January 19, an Atlas Air 747 freighter had to make an emergency landing in Miami, Florida, after an engine failure shortly after takeoff. According to a recording of the exchanges with the control tower, the pilot of the plane, which was carrying five people, reported an “engine fire”, after having launched a distress call “mayday, mayday”.
Aerophobes, listen up: In Miami, a Boeing 747-8 caught fire almost immediately after takeoff. But all’s well, it was turned around and landed safely at the airport. No injuries.
Maybe staying home isn’t such a bad idea. pic.twitter.com/XqJwpTS65W
— Bad AI (@Bad_AI_) January 20, 2024
In late February, United Airlines pilots reported that the rudder pedals of their 737 Max stuck after landing in Newark, New Jersey. The National Transportation Safety Council incident investigation.
At the same time, the FAA is reporting safety issues with de-icing equipment on the 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner models, which could cause the engines to lose power. The FAA is allowing flights to continue, while Boeing says the problem poses no immediate safety risk.
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March 2024: the sky darkens for Boeing
The month of March didn’t get off to a better start for the American manufacturer. 1is March, during an Alaska Airlines flight connecting Los Cabos, Mexico, to Portland, United States, aboard a Boeing 737 Max 8, the door to the hold containing the pets was found open just after landing.
The exact time of its opening has not yet been determined with certainty. “There was no indication to the crew that the door was unlocked during the flight and all evidence suggests the door partially opened after landing,” the company said. The aircraft was inspected and the door repaired.
On March 7, a Boeing 777 made an emergency landing in Los Angeles, California, after losing a tire from one of its wheels during takeoff from San Francisco International Airport. In a video shared on social networks, we see the tire come loose and cars damaged by its fall in a parking lot, without causing any casualties. The plane, which was carrying 249 people to Japan, belongs to United Airlines.
🇺🇸 A United Airlines Boeing 777 lost a wheel on takeoff from San Francisco.
▫️The wheel crashed into cars in the airport parking lot.
— air plus news (@airplusnews) March 7, 2024
The next day, a United Airlines Boeing 737 Max saw its landing gear collapse shortly after landing on the tarmac at Houston airport, Texas, causing it to end up in the grass. . None of the 160 passengers and six crew members were injured. The aircraft, which was only four and a half years old, had only belonged to Boeing since June 2023.
On March 11, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner flying from Sydney to Auckland suddenly lost altitude over the Tasman Sea, propelling all passengers whose seat belts were not fastened to the ceiling. “Everyone started screaming, crying,” describes Ellie Addison, an Australian receptionist who was one of the 263 passengers on board. “People were thrown out of their seats, blood was streaming down their faces.”
In total, around fifty passengers were injured and 13 of them were taken to hospital. The Chilean company Latam, which operates this Boeing, indicates that the plane “suffered a technical incident during the trip which caused a strong movement”, without further details. Black box analysis is in progress.
The proliferation of these highly publicized cases only fuels anxiety in the United States – especially since for users of domestic flights, traveling on board a Boeing aircraft is often inevitable.
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