An Alaska Airlines flight attendant who was on board during the blowout incident in January said she did not feel safe on a Boeing 737 Max.
The unnamed cabin crew member made the statement during an interview as part of the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation. The interview, which took place three days after the incident, was made public last week as part of the NTSB’s hearing on Flight 1282.
“From my personal point of view and knowing that this is a ten-week-old aircraft, I do not feel safe boarding the Max at this time,” the flight attendant said.
“How do we know this won’t happen again and that it’s safe? Because it shouldn’t have happened,” they added.
At an altitude of 16,000 feet, a door plug on the 737 Max 9 came loose, causing an uncontrolled decompression before the plane reversed course for an emergency landing.
In its preliminary report, the NTSB stated that key bolts securing the door stopper were missing when the plane left the Boeing factory.
“Suddenly there was just a loud bang and a lot of hissing air, as if the door had been torn open. I was scared to death,” said the flight attendant.
They also recalled fears that passengers could have been sucked through the hole. There were only seven empty seats on the 178-passenger plane, including two next to the missing door stopper.
Eight people, including a flight attendant, were slightly injured. Boeing also suffered damage from the blowout, and the company’s share price fell by a third this year.
Last month, Boeing pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with the previous 737 Max crisis. Boeing is also facing another Justice Department investigation related to the Alaska Airlines bankruptcy.
In March, Dave Calhoun became the second Boeing CEO in a row to resign due to problems with the aircraft manufacturer’s narrow-body flagship.
His successor, Kelly Ortberg, told employees last Thursday: “While we clearly have a lot of work ahead of us to restore trust, I am confident that together we can return the company to the industry leader we all expect.”
Boeing and Alaska Airlines did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment outside U.S. business hours.
