One year later: Teacher 'Bob' recounts finding Alaska Air door plug in his backyard
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Sunday marks one year since an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 had its door plug blown out in midair on Jan. 5, 2024 on its trip from PDX to Ontario, California.
That same door plug plunged thousands of feet and landed in a tree in a Portland science teacher’s backyard in the West Haven neighborhood.
Bob Sauer, the now-retired teacher, recounted the following days when people were searching all over Portland to find the missing piece of evidence. And had it not been for a call from a friend, he may not have found it at all.
"I thought, 'Well, somebody's sure to find it.' So I didn't look and I didn't look and I didn't look, and people were not finding it," Sauer recalled. "And eventually, a friend of mine called and said, 'Maybe you should check your backyard, because they think it fell somewhere in this neighborhood.' And finally, on Sunday evening, I went out and looked, and there it was in the backyard."
He continued, "My heart beat a bit faster when I saw that. I knew immediately what it was. It was pretty recognizable as the door plug, but it was incredible that it was in my backyard."
After reaching out to the NTSB in Washington D.C., Sauer stated they didn't believe him at first, since someone else had already called and reported having found the door plug.
"It turned out to be a lamp, a lampshade, like on a street from the street lamp," he added. "So [the NTSB agent] wanted proof and asked for a picture."
The national office then contacted the NTSB investigation team on the scene in Portland with the news, right after NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy was finishing a press conference. Homendy then rushed out with the update.
"I'm excited to announce we found the door plug. Thank you, Bob," she said.
On Jan. 8, seven National Transportation Safety Board investigators came to Sauer’s home to collect the crucial piece of evidence. They even came to speak to his students who were "fascinated by the tales of what they do," according to Sauer.
But what followed was not only local and national news coverage for Sauer's find - but stations around the world wanted to hear the story.
"I actually talked to the BBC about that in a phone interview and two television stations in Australia and a reporter from Vietnam," he said.
Since retiring in June, Sauer has also traveled the world, getting recognized as "The Door Plug Guy" to this day.
"I've just gotten back from three weeks in Ireland and three weeks in Spain and people there knew about it," he recalled. "And a few even recognized my name as being the person who had found the door."
Overall, Sauer called it an "incredible coincidence," stating he and his neighbors are lucky no one got hurt. Additionally, he's impressed that people still remember the incident a year later, especially after the events that have since transpired.
"It brought out all kinds of things, all these communications around the world," Sauer said. "I heard from people I hadn't heard from since high school, who contacted me after that. So it's been a it's been a broadening experience."
FAA: Boeing still needs a culture change to put safety above profits
By The Associated Press
A year after a panel blew out of a Boeing 737 Max during flight, the nation’s top aviation regulator says the company needs "a fundamental cultural shift” to put safety and quality above profits.
Mike Whitaker, chief of the Federal Aviation Administration, said in an online post Friday that his agency also has more work to do in its oversight of Boeing.
Whitaker, who plans to step down in two weeks to let President-elect Donald Trump pick his own FAA administrator, looked back on his decision last January to ground all 737 Max jets with similar panels called door plugs. Later, the FAA put more inspectors in Boeing factories, limited production of new 737s, and required Boeing to come up with a plan to fix manufacturing problems.
“Boeing is working to make progress executing its comprehensive plan in the areas of safety, quality improvement and effective employee engagement and training,” Whitaker said. “But this is not a one-year project. What’s needed is a fundamental cultural shift at Boeing that’s oriented around safety and quality above profits. That will require sustained effort and commitment from Boeing, and unwavering scrutiny on our part.”
Boeing on Friday issued an update on steps it has taken to improve safety and quality, including addressing concerns raised by employees and reinforcing their confidentiality protection.
Boeing, which couldn’t build new 737s during a seven-week strike by machinists last fall, said it has strengthened training for mechanics and quality inspectors. The company said it updated a system to display the names of employees who perform metal-stamping work.
The company also said it has “significantly reduced defects” in 737 fuselages built by Spirit AeroSystems, but it declined to provide numbers. Spirit is a key supplier that Boeing is in the process of buying for $4.7 billion.
The National Transportation Safety Board continues to investigate the door-plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines Max jet. Despite a gaping hole in the side, pilots landed the plane safely in Portland, Oregon, and no serious injuries were reported.
A month after the accident, investigators said in a preliminary report that bolts used to help secure the panel were not replaced after work in a Boeing factory.
Whitaker said the FAA will review any recommendations that the safety board makes to improve FAA's oversight work. Last summer, he admitted that FAA's scrutiny of Boeing wasn't good enough.