MAX 9 Door Plug Found

Investigators now have the emergency exit door plug that separated from an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 over Oregon last Friday afternoon. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters Sunday the plug, used in place of an exit door that's not required, was found in the backyard of a schoolteacher identified only as Bob. "We are really pleased that Bob found this," she said. The plug should supply investigators with any missing structural data needed to determine the cause of the in-flight failure.

It turns out the aircraft was giving hints of trouble in weeks previous to the incident, which forced an emergency landing and literally sucked the shirt off the back of a young boy sitting next to the plug. At least three times since December flight deck pressurization warning lights illuminated. In each case, maintenance staff were able to clear the errors and declare the aircraft airworthy. However, the airline opted to remove the aircraft from ETOPs flights so the plane would be near an airport if the warnings triggered.

Homendy also said the crew, in addition to dealing with the depressurization, were without clear communications after their headsets were damaged. The flight deck door was also sucked open in the depressurization and was damaged when it slammed into a restroom door. Flight attendants struggled to close the flight deck door. Homendy also noted the cockpit voice recorder data had been overwritten and she renewed the NTSB's call on the FAA to extend the mandatory recording time from the current two hours to 25 hours.