WASHINGTON, D.C., July 11, 2025 — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has concluded its investigation into the dramatic in-flight separation of a mid-exit door plug on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9, citing critical lapses by Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as the cause.
The incident occurred on January 5, 2024, shortly after Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 departed from Portland International Airport. As the aircraft climbed through 14,830 feet, the left mid-exit door plug blew out, causing a rapid depressurization. While one flight attendant and seven passengers sustained minor injuries, the plane returned safely to Portland. The aircraft, carrying 171 people, suffered substantial damage.
According to the NTSB, the probable cause was “Boeing’s failure to provide adequate training, guidance, and oversight necessary to ensure that manufacturing personnel could consistently and correctly comply with its parts removal process.” The process in question was intended to ensure that bolts and hardware removed during manufacturing were properly reinstalled. Four bolts that were supposed to secure the door plug vertically were never recovered.
The report also pointed to systemic failures at the FAA, stating that “ineffective compliance enforcement surveillance and audit planning activities” contributed to Boeing’s ongoing noncompliance issues going unchecked.
NTSB Issues 19 Safety Recommendations
In response, the NTSB issued 19 new safety recommendations- 11 to the FAA and 8 to Boeing, including calls for:
- A design enhancement for door plug security to be retrofitted on all in-service aircraft.
- Major revisions to FAA oversight, surveillance, and record-keeping systems.
- An independent review of Boeing’s safety culture.
- Improved training protocols for FAA inspectors and Boeing manufacturing personnel.
Among its recommendations to the FAA, the NTSB urged the issuance of an airworthiness directive mandating retrofits, and called for preserving cockpit voice recordings for at least 25 hours in all aircraft. Boeing was directed to improve training, documentation, and risk management tied to manufacturing practices.
Photos from the accident scene and wreckage were released on the NTSB’s Flickr account.
Read: NTSB Faults Boeing for Alaska Airlines Door Plug Blowout: Cites Lapses in Training and Oversight
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