The hunt is on for the piece of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 airliner that separated from the aircraft Friday as it flew over a rural area of Oregon. At a news conference in Portland Saturday evening, NTSB Chairman Jennifer Homendy pleaded for public help in delivering that crucial piece of evidence to further the investigation into what the NTSB is now classing as an accident. She also asked for more cellphone video and anything else the public might have that could help investigators. “To the neighborhoods, if you find anything, please, please contact local authorities,” she said.
Homendy stopped short of making a “broad assessment” of the safety of the aircraft and stressed that the board’s investigation is limited to the involved aircraft and not the fleet as a whole, but she didn’t rule out that it could spread that far. Homendy also noted that because the accident happened on initial climbout at 16,000 feet, with all onboard belted in their seats, the incident could have been catastrophic.
