Boeing's problems are bigger than just nuts and bolts

Aviation is an abundant source of metaphors, but not always as self-generating as the terrifying Alaska Airlines incident that has once again brought Boeing low: a hole blown in the side of an ascending plane, a gap that was not properly plugged, passengers staring into the void.

- Gwyn Tophama, Callum Jones

The safe landing of flight 1282 on 5 January after a boy literally lost the shirt from his back as the air was sucked out at 4,300 metres means Boeing can count itself lucky that it does not face far worse than the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigation and a further audit announced last week and a handful of lawsuits from distressed passengers.

Only one variant of Boeing's 737 Max model, the Max 9 with a sealed mid-rear exit door, has been grounded, pending inspections. The FAA will now try to determine whether Boeing failed to ensure its planes met the designs and were "in a condition for safe operation". The National Transportation Safety Board's accident investigators will be examining the missing chunk of fuselage found in an Oregon teacher's back yard.

In an industry where every chief executive likes to intone that safety is the No 1 priority, Boeing has had to redouble efforts since the 737 Max disasters of 2018-19. Two crashes that killed 346 people led to the model being grounded worldwide for about 20 months and the exposure of internal company communications that suggested concerns were being suppressed in the race to fend off rival Airbus and produce a cheaper, more fuel-efficient single-aisle plane.