
Savings v. Safety in Aircraft Manufacturing
On January 5th, Alaska Airlines flight 1282 left Portland, Oregon en route to Ontario, California. Just minutes into the flight, the Boeing 737 Max 9 lost a door plug, creating a gaping hole in the side of the aircraft.
Fortunately, all 171 passengers and six crew members were safe, largely because the plane had only reached 16,000 feet, minimizing the amount of cabin decompression that took place. It also helped that no one was sitting in front of the plug, which was put in place to cover a spot that otherwise would have been an extra emergency exit
Once the shock wore off, the questions…
The skinny
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