Boeing Whistleblower: Production Line Has “Enormous Volume Of Defects” Bolts On MAX 9 Weren’t Installed

Jan 22 2024

A reader at respected airline industry site Leeham News offered a comment that suggests they have access to Boeing’s internal quality control systems, and shares details of what they saw regarding the Boeing 737 MAX 9 flown by Alaska Airlines that had a door plug detach inflight, causing rapid decompression of the aircraft.

The takeaway appears to be that outsourced plane components have so many problems when they show up at the production line that Boeing’s quality control staff can’t keep up with them all.

Continue Reading »

Higher Authority Meets Airline Policy: Torah Receives Cabin Bag Tag

Jan 22 2024

Hebrew National hot dogs has used the slogan, “we answer to a higher authority” since 1965. When flying, though, we all answer to the cabin crew, pilots, gate agent, airline and aviation regulatory authority. With Aerolineas Argentinas, they can be pretty strict with cabin baggage. Everything gets a tag to show it’s been inspected and certified compliant with carry on rules. So before a recent Buenos Aires to Bariloche flight on the state-owned carrier, a passenger spotted a man carrying a torah up the boarding stairs. The torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, is supposed to be carried in the right hand and rests on the right shoulder. It’s tough to do that up a set of air stairs! Credit: Hannah Roberts And, answering to the authority of Aerolineas Argentinas, the torah…

Continue Reading »

Unhinged Mom Loses It When Clever Aisle/Window Seat Strategy Backfires Spectacularly

Jan 21 2024

A young woman flying cross country found herself in the gate area noticing a demanding passenger. This older woman, with a six or seven year old son, was “demanding things from the airport staff.”

Once the plane boarded this passenger went to her middle seat, only to find that the mother and son showed up at her row. They were assigned the window and aisle seats and she was between them.

Continue Reading »

Reagan National Airport Declares Protests Blocking Roadway Access A “First Amendment Right”

Jan 21 2024

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which manages both Reagan National airport and Washington Dulles is a disaster and that extends to their public statements about anti-Israel and pro-Hamas protestors blocking access to National airport calling their actions “exercising first amendment rights” in the roadway.

Continue Reading »