‘Made in Malaysia’ inscription found on blown-off door plug of Alaska Airlines’ flight

KUALA LUMPUR: The discovery of a ‘Made in Malaysia’ mark on the door plug that blew off Alaska Airlines flight 1282 may leave Malaysia as a key focus in yet another aviation incident investigation.

On 5 January, a door plug of a Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft detached at an altitude of approximately 16,000 feet (4,877 m).

In a report by the Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) news portal, the door plug eventually landed in the backyard of a school teacher, Bob Sauer, near the suburb identified by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as the possible landing spot.

After finding the door, Sauer had called the NTSB, and agents arrived at his home in Southwest Portland at about 7 a.m. on 8 January. Media reported that they also gave Sauer a patch and a medallion.

Intriguingly, the door had a handwritten inscription stating ‘Made in Malaysia.’

The inscriptions, including a serial number and manufacturing details, were found on the detached door plug, leaving Sauer intrigued about the unconventional method of inventory control.

“That’s an interesting way of doing inventory control,” he told OPB.

Additionally, the school teacher had also inquired NTSB staff about the specific location where the door detached.

“They told me there was a 15 mph wind at the time,” he said. “And that because of the shape that this had — I mean it was curved like a plane fuselage — it would have done like a falling leaf on the way down. So that it wouldn’t have fallen straight down.”

According to the OPB report, Boeing said they could not address the inscriptions because of the active investigation by the NTSB.

Malaysian Transport Minister responds to ‘Made in Malaysia’ door plug involved in an incident on Alaska Airlines flight

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said on January 12 that no information had been received following an alleged ‘Made in Malaysia’ door plug blown off from an Alaska Airlines flight recently.

“(As such) I cannot comment on that. First, it is not under our jurisdiction, so I cannot comment in general.

“Also, we do not know if it is true or not. We are only following the media reports as an observer now.

“If there is any official report from the airline, we will ask the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) to look into the issue,” he told media reporters.

Earlier, the incident had forced the Alaska Airlines flight with 177 passengers onboard to make an emergency landing in the US state of Oregon after departing from Portland International Airport.

The emergency landing was prompted by a reported pressurization issue, with the flight returning safely to its departure point.