Piece of Alaska Airlines plane's broken door found

As we all know, last Friday, the emergency exit latch on the left side of an Alaska Airlines plane blew off in mid-air after takeoff from Oregon to California, forcing the pilot to turn around and land safely with all 171 passengers and 6 crew on board.

Found the final escape hatch of the Alaska Airlines plane picture 1 — National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator John Lovell examines a hole in the side of an Alaska Airlines plane on January 7, 2024. Photo: NTSB

The missing bolt was found Sunday by a Portland school teacher identified only as “Bob” in the Cedar Hills area, who found it in his backyard, NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said, saying she was “very relieved” it had been found.

Homendy said the impact was strong enough to blow the door open mid-flight and that it must have been a “terrifying event.” She said pilots interviewed by investigators reported hearing “a bang.”

Homendy said the cockpit voice recorder did not capture any data because it was overwritten and again called on regulators to mandate that planes be equipped with recorders that can record 25 hours of data, up from the current two hours.

Secondary exits are typically found on low-cost carriers that have more seats and need more exits. However, some planes with fewer seats have had the paneling removed, making the area look like a regular window seat.

737 MAX 9 aircraft with conventional emergency exits instead of the latch plate mentioned above can continue to fly. Boeing 737 fuselages are manufactured by Kansas-based Spirit AeroSystems, which also manufactures and installs the emergency exit latch plate.

Bui Huy (according to Reuters, CNA)

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