Alaska Airlines Incident: Safety Check Oversight Led to Door Panel Blowout

The door panel of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft blew off mid-flight on Jan. 5, prompting a federal probe into Boeing's safety measures. Prior to the flight, engineers and technicians had expressed concern over a warning light related to the plane's pressurization system, but the airline decided to continue flying the aircraft and scheduled a maintenance check for the same day. Investigators found that four key bolts were missing from the door plug, causing the cabin to depressurize at 16,000 feet before the plane safely returned to Portland International Airport. Boeing has faced increased scrutiny, with a recent FAA review finding the company failed 33 of 89 aspects in its manufacturing processes for the 737 Max.