A Portland, Oregon, schoolteacher on Monday found the door plug in his yard, according to CNN noted.
United Airlines said Monday it has discovered loose bolts on some of its Boeing 737 Max 9s – the same model of craft on which a door panel, or plug, burst open during an Alaska Airlines flight this past weekend.
United’s discovery came amid an intense focus on the model and recent flight records by airline and federal officials – following the mid-air accident on a Portland-to-Canada flight.
“Since we began preliminary inspections on Saturday, we have found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug – for example, bolts that needed additional tightening,” the airline stated, according to CNN.
Plugs are put in fuselage gaps that were carved out for exits.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered the grounding of some Boeing 737 Max 9s in the wake of the incident and mandating their inspections. United discovered the loose bolts in the course of those inspections.
Video footage of the Alaska Airlines depressurization incident showed a panel and window missing from the fuselage, though there were no reported injuries.
