Airplanes in general are a major fear among Americans. According to the Cleveland Clinic, “Aerophobia affects more than 25 million adults in the U.S.” This statistic can only worsen with the increasingly common malfunctions of planes across the world and multiple different airlines. The only common factor among these instances is the model of the plane. The Boeing 737 Max models are experiencing a plethora of issues in recent months. The first noteworthy incident occurred within the first week of 2024.
Boeing models are one of the most common airplanes used domestically and internationally. According to Boeing’s official website, “More than 10,000 Boeing-built commercial jetliners are in service worldwide, which is almost half the world fleet.” This shows how dependent travelers are on Boeing, which makes the recent malfunctions even more pressing. On January 5, a commercial flight through Alaska Airlines had an emergency landing due to a door falling off of the plane mid-flight. According to ABC News in an article posted on January 9 of this year, “The door plug for the fuselage of a Boeing 737 Max 9 fell off during a flight’s ascent on Friday, depressurizing the cabin and exposing passengers to open air thousands of feet above ground.”
This incident could have seriously injured or killed the 171 passengers and six crew members on flight 1282, as well as the Portland resident whose backyard the door plug was eventually found in. Many people already have reservations about using airplanes as a method of travel. With these new and frightening issues added to the mix, there can be an expected decrease in revenue for airlines across the globe as well as a scarcity of planes available to fly commercially.
After the incident on January 5, there was an investigation of planes of that same model by multiple airlines. Many planes were suspended from use while the investigation was underway. The cause of the issue was concluded to be loose bolts that are responsible for keeping the door connected to the aircraft. Although the exact number is unknown, there were additional planes that were found to have the same issue when inspected after the initial incident. This confirms that the malfunction of the door was not in fact a fluke but an error of assembly or maintenance.
The outcome of this issue could have been a lot more catastrophic, and the company is not new to this type of controversy. In October of 2018, a Boeing 737 Max, referred to as Lion Air Flight 610, departed from Indonesia and just 12 minutes later crashed into the Java Sea, taking the lives of everyone on board. A few months later in March of 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed just six minutes after take off and killed 157 passengers and crew. Flight 302 was also a Boeing 737 Max. Lion Air Flight 610’s flight recorder was eventually found and gave some insight into what caused the plane to crash that day. According to Indonesian flight investigators, a faulty sensor caused the plane to prompt an automated system leading to difficulty controlling the plane. With these crashes occurring so close together, the argument can be made that the same thing could have caused the Ethiopian Airlines crash.
Flying can be nerve-wracking for anyone, and with the fear of flying combined with the expensive nature of air travel, it’s no wonder that more and more Americans are choosing to drive to their destination. With more extensive safety procedures, flying can return to being an exciting experience instead of the symbol of fear that it has become.
