WERE THERE PRIOR WARNINGS? 

Pilots on the same Alaska Airlines aircraft reported that the auto pressurisation fail light had illuminated on three other occasions – Dec 7, Jan 3 and Jan 4.

The auto pressurisation fail light comes on when the pressure in the cabin changes at an unusually fast rate.

However, it is unclear if there are any connections between the three incidences and the one on Jan 5, said NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy.

She added that the airline had made a decision after the warnings to restrict the aircraft from making long flights over water to Hawaii so that it could return quickly to an airport if needed.

Alaska Airlines said earlier in a response to questions about the warning lights that aircraft pressurisation system write-ups were typical in commercial aviation operations with large planes.

“In every case, the write-up was fully evaluated and resolved per approved maintenance procedures and in full compliance with all applicable FAA regulations,” said the airline.

A POSSIBLE DESIGN FLAW?

The latest mishap could stem from the manufacturing of the door plug that came loose, or bolts that were supposed to secure it, or from a quality control issue, said Scott Hamilton from aviation news outlet Leeham News.

“If it’s indeed a quality assurance issue, whether it’s in Spirit or at Boeing, I would say it’s more than likely a narrow, quality assurance issue,” he said, referring to Spirit Aerosystems, Boeing’s main subcontractor.

“I think this is more of a one-off anomaly than I would a systemic issue,” he said.

“For me, it is a very isolated problem,” added Michel Merluzeau, an aeronautics specialist with consulting firm AIR. “I do not at all think it is a design problem.”

He said evidence for this is the fact that the FAA ordered inspections that take just four to eight hours.

“We should be back to normal in about a week,” said Merluzeau.

He said that the latest incident could be a result of supply chain and production problems that are currently affecting the commercial aviation sector.

For instance in 2020, as the pandemic raged and the US economy largely went into lockdown, Boeing stopped making planes for nearly a month.

As air travel fell off dramatically, Boeing laid off around 30,000 workers.

Boeing started hiring en masse again in 2022 but many experienced workers did not return to the company.

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