Alaska Airlines Boeing 737’s windshield cracks while landing

usa news

by melissa koenig

In the latest issue with Boeing’s jets, an Alaska Airlines plane suffered a crack in its inner windshield as it landed in Oregon.

On Sunday, a flight from Washington, D.C., was descending into Portland International Airport when a flight attendant noticed a small crack on the inside of the windshield. aviation officials told Fox 12 Oregon.

“The crew followed the checklist and the aircraft continued to safely fly to its scheduled destination,” the airline said in a statement.

The company explained that its Boeing 737-800 aircraft have five layers of windshield: outer glass, three layers of inner glass, and an inner layer of glass.

Airline officials said, “Even if the inner window glass cracks, other window glass and layers can maintain cabin pressure.”

The airline said none of the 159 passengers and six crew members were injured.

The aircraft will now be inspected and repaired by technicians on the ground.

The newspaper also contacted Alaska Airlines for more information. Boeing officials declined to comment.

But the cracked windshield is just the latest problem to befall Boeing planes in more than two months since another Alaska Airlines flight’s door plug was blown off in mid-air, forcing it to make an emergency landing.

In the aftermath, the Federal Aviation Administration discovered dozens of problems related to the manufacturing process for Boeing’s 737 MAX jets. These include a mechanic at one of its major suppliers using hotel key cards and dishwashing detergent as makeshift tools for compliance testing.

Boeing also announced that it had failed 33 of 89 product audits (examinations of specific aspects of production lines), for a total of 97 nonconformities. New York Times.

Boeing officials say they expect it will take more than a year to resolve the issue.

But Boeing has also been plagued by problems on other routes, including a 737-800 that landed in Portland on Sunday.

Just a few days ago on Friday, another 737-800 lost an external panel during flight.

A United Airlines plane landed safely at Rogue Valley International Medford Airport in Oregon on Friday.

United Airlines said there were no signs of any problems or a state of emergency during the flight, which had 139 passengers and six crew members on board.

However, when the plane arrived at the gate, an exterior panel was found to be missing, and operations at the airport were suspended while a runway safety inspection was conducted, Airport Director Amber Judd said in a statement. he told the Post.

Airport staff searched the airport grounds for the missing panel but were unable to find it.

“After no debris was found on the airfield, the MFR resumed normal operations a few minutes later,” she said.

United Airlines said it plans a “thorough inspection” of the 25-year-old plane and will “make all necessary repairs before returning it to service.”