Boeing to Make Design Changes to Prevent Future 737 MAX 9 Door Panel Blowout

Members of the news media view the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 door plug in advance of National Transportation Safety Board hearings, at the NTSB materials lab in Washington, on July 30, 2024. David Shepardson/Reuters

WASHINGTON—Boeing said on Aug. 6 that it plans to make design changes to prevent a future midair cabin panel blowout like the one in an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 flight in January that initiated the planemaker’s second major crisis in recent years.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Boeing said they still haven’t determined who removed and reinstalled that plane’s door plug during production.