EDITOR ’ S BRIEFING
TWO RECENT EVENTS have highlighted the aviation industry continuous efforts to enhance its safety measures and procedures . On January 2 , a Japan Airlines Airbus A350 collided with a Japanese Coast Guard Dash 8 at Tokyo ’ s Haneda Airport . On January 5 , a door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737- 9 in mid-flight over Portland , Oregon . Both frightening episodes put aviation safety under the spotlight .
Both accidents , which fortunately did not result in massive loss of life , have truly benefited from the lessons learned in the past . The Haneda event was the first accident involving Japan Airlines in almost 40 years , since the 1985 Flight 123 disaster . That crash — still the deadliest single-aircraft accident in aviation history — having caused the deaths of 505 passengers and 15 crew — shifted the airline culture further toward safety .
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As told by Jon Ostrower in The Air Current , the safe evacuation of all 379 passengers and crew onboard an Airbus A350 that had sustained heavy damage before being engulfed in flames marks an “ important moment in modern aircraft design .” Investigators will extract “ a trove of valuable data ” that can be applied to make air travel even safer in the era of carbon fiber and composites in the manufacture of new airliners .
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Just a few days after this accident , the blowout of a plug door on an Alaska Airlines 737-9 again put the MAX program under the scrutiny of the authorities , media , and public opinion . The 20-month grounding of the aircraft type between 2019 and 2020 , which followed two crashes attributed to design and training flaws , had already stained the image of one of the most popular aircraft ever made .
As opposed to the early MAX crashes , the AS1282 accident immediately prompted the global grounding of the 737-9 for inspections and repairs . As of press time , the grounding is still ongoing , and investigations continue to determine the causes of the event .
The aftermath of Alaska Airlines Flight AS1282 will exert more pressure on Boeing , and we are sure that changes in the leadership of the company will follow suit . Also , we foresee that the lessons learned from this crash will lead to more stringent tests that might delay the entry into service of aircraft with similar plug doors installed : the Boeing 737-10 and the Airbus A321XLR .
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MARCH 2024 | VOLUME 31 | NUMBER 01 | ISSUE 322
Meanwhile , your Global Review of Commercial Flight will be bringing to you the latest developments throughout our website , www . airwaysmag . com , social media feeds , our NOTAM newsletter , and our podcast .
As always , my email ( roberto @ airwaysmag . com ) is open to your comments and feedback .
Clear skies ,
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