MINR · BOEING 737-9 · 2024-01-06 · Portland, OR, USA
Event
NTSB number
DCA24MA063
Event ID
20240106193617
Type
Accident
Date
2024-01-06
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Coordinates
45.454167, -122.75555
Injuries
Highest injury
MINR
Fatal
0
Serious
0
Minor
8
Uninjured
172
Total aboard
180
Aircraft
Make
BOEING
Model
737-9
Registration
N704AL
FAR Part
121
Engines
2
Damage
SUBS
Conditions
Light
NITE
Weather
VMC
Probable cause
the in-flight separation of the left mid exit door (MED) plug due to Boeing Commercial Airplanes’ failure to provide adequate training, guidance, and oversight necessary to ensure that manufacturing personnel could consistently and correctly comply with its parts removal process, which was intended to document and ensure that the securing bolts and hardware that were removed from the left MED plug to facilitate rework during the manufacturing process were reinstalled. Contributing to the accident was the Federal Aviation Administration’s ineffective compliance enforcement surveillance and audit planning activities, which failed to adequately identify and ensure that Boeing addressed the repetitive and systemic nonconformance issues associated with its parts removal process.