Alaska Air to expand quality checks on Boeing 737 production

Alaska Airlines will “initiate and enhance” its own quality control checks on the production of its planes, in addition to Federal Aviation Administration’s review and oversight of the process after an accident on a Boeing Co. 737 Max 9 jet this month.

The carrier said it met with Boeing’s chief executive officer and leadership team in recent days to discuss their quality improvement plans, according to a statement Saturday. A fuselage panel blew off a Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon on Jan. 5.

Preliminary inspections by Alaska Air and United Airlines Holdings Inc. since the accident have found loose bolts on some of their Max 9 aircraft. The FAA has launched a formal probe of the Boeing’s manufacturing operations and announced steps to toughen oversight of the planemaker.

Alaska Air also said its quality and audit team began a thorough review of Boeing’s production quality and control systems, and production vendor oversight.

Alaska Air “will partner with our maintenance team on the design of enhanced processes for our own quality control over aircraft at Boeing,” it said. “Starting this week, we will also enhance our own quality oversight of Alaska aircraft on the Boeing production line, expanding our team with additional experienced professionals to validate work and quality on the Boeing 737 production line.”

The FAA is requiring Boeing to provide additional data before the agency approves inspection and maintenance procedures that airlines must complete in order to resume flights. The agency said it wants to review data from an initial round of checks of the plug doors on 40 planes using Boeing’s instructions before determining whether the steps are appropriate for the entire fleet of grounded jets. 

Alaska Air began preliminary inspections on several of its 737 Max 9 jets this weekend, it said, where as many as 20 of its planes will go through such checks.