PORTLAND, Ore. — On Sunday evening, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed that a missing door plug and two cellphones were found. The NTSB held a press conference addressing the first full day of the investigation after a Boeing 737 MAX 9 had to make an emergency landing at Portland International Airport (PDX).
During the press conference, a missing door plug described as yellowish-green on one side and white on the other was found by a Portland teacher, according to the NTSB. It was also confirmed that two cellphones were recovered by local residents in Beaverton. Just moments after Sunday night's press conference, the NTSB called a second press conference where they announced the plug door was found in the backyard of resident, "Bob," a Portland school teacher.
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On Monday the agency tweeted pictures of the door in the spot where it fell. Bystander video of the recovery operation appeared to show that it had been found on a property on Southwest Taylor Street near Southwest 95th Avenue, a little less than half a mile northwest of Providence St. Vincent Hospital in the Cedar Hills area.
On Saturday, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) addressed the preliminary stages of the investigation. The particular focus of the investigation is not about the fleet of Boeing 737 MAX 9s but the specific aircraft in Friday's incident, said NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy.
Homendy said it looks as if a cabin door plug fell off, resulting in rapid decompression.
The plug door is part of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 design, so planes can be manufactured with an additional emergency exit if an airline wants to add more passengers. That was not the case with this Alaska Airlines plane, so the door was not a functioning exit.
Homendy said NTSB was not aware of any major injuries to the passengers.
A few details about the damage in the plane were revealed — for instance, one of the seats by the gaping hole had its headrest and back missing, with pieces of clothing strewn around. No one was seated where the broken door plug was located, she said.
Homendy also praised the "swift and decisive action" of the crew and first responders, expressing relief that the flight had only been 10 minutes out from the airport and had not entered cruise altitude, during which passengers and flight attendants would be walking around the aircraft.
The agency is also asking for photos and video taken inside the aircraft to help with the investigation, which can be emailed to witness@NTSB.gov.
Many details, such as how exactly the door plug fell off or which agency or agencies approved the certification for the aircraft, could not be answered yet.
Saturday marked the planning phase, with Sunday being the official full day of investigation; more updates are expected in the coming days. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Boeing, Alaska Airlines, the Airline Pilots Association and the Association of Flight Attendants will be part of the fact-finding phase, Homendy said.
Suspended flights at PDX
United Airlines confirmed to KGW that flights involving Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft have been suspended for inspection.
"United has temporarily suspended service on select Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft to conduct an inspection required by the FAA. We are working directly with impacted customers to find them alternative travel options," United Airlines said in an email.
United has 79 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, including about 33 that have already received the FAA inspection.
The FAA said that inspections are expected to take roughly four to eight hours per aircraft and are expected to impact 171 aircraft worldwide.
"The FAA is requiring immediate inspections of certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes before they can return to flight,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in a statement. “Safety will continue to drive our decision-making as we assist the NTSB’s investigation into Alaska Airlines Flight 1282.”
Southwest told KGW that it does not operate the Boeing 737 MAX 9.
"The MAX -8 aircraft in our existing fleet and the -7 in our future fleet do not have the exit plug door involved in the Friday evening event. Our fleet and operation are unaffected," they said in an email.
On Saturday, Alaska Airlines in a statement said that of the 65 737 MAX 9 aircraft in its fleet, crews had inspected the paneled-over exits as part of recent maintenance work on 18 planes, and those were cleared to return to service Saturday. The inspection process for the remaining aircraft in the fleet was expected to be completed in the coming days, the company said.
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA commended the FAA's decision, along with the entire crew of Alaska Flight 1282 in a statement.
"Our union supports the FAA's quick and decisive action to ground certain 737 MAX 9 that do not meet the inspection cycles specified in the Emergency Airworthiness Directive," said Union President Sara Nelson. "This is a critical move to ensure the safety of all crew and passengers, as well as confidence in aviation safety. Lives must come first always."
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) also said they've sent a team out to Portland Saturday morning to investigate.
About Boeing's 737 MAX 9
The FAA said it had been inspecting the aircraft in December for a "possible loose bolt in the rudder control system."
The aircraft involved rolled off the assembly line and received its certification two months ago, and had been on 145 flights since entering commercial service on Nov. 11. The flight from Portland was the aircraft's third of the day.
Last year, the FAA told pilots to limit use of an anti-ice system on the MAX in dry conditions because of concern that inlets around the engines could overheat and break away, possibly striking the plane.
Max deliveries have been interrupted at times to fix manufacturing flaws. The company told airlines in December to inspect the planes for a possible loose bolt in the rudder-control system.
Boeing released a statement Saturday, saying, "Safety is our top priority and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers. We agree with and fully support the FAA's decision to require immediate inspections of 737-9 airplanes with the same configuration as the affected airplane. In addition, a Boeing technical team is supporting the NTSB's investigation into last night's event. We will remain in close contact with our regulator and customers."
Though shaken up, passengers onboard praised the calmness and efficiency of the Alaska Airlines crew during the emergency landing.
"The cabin crew did an excellent job. The pilot did a great job. Can’t say anything bad about them at all," said Evan Smith, a passenger visiting Portland over the holidays.
Another passenger, Elizabeth, said that "everyone stayed calm, and everyone had their seatbelts on."