A woman is contending, and gathering support from others, that Alaska Airlines was aware of issues with a Boeing 737 Max 9 airplane which had to make an emergency landing last week, leading to mandatory Federal Aviation Administration inspections of all of the planes in service in the United States.
The video comes from TikTok creator Jpall20, whose channel professes that it’s “bringing you the latest stories on tiktok & in the news.” She’s been featured in the Daily Dot several times, including in a November story in which she questioned the veracity of Google Maps and Apple Maps.
This video received over 114,000 views in its first day since going up Tuesday, covering information about the recent Boeing Max 9 incident that has many concerned about the safety of that plane.
She covers an unidentified new or news report about Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, which made an emergency landing shortly after taking off from Portland International Airport on Friday after losing part of its fuselage.
“I have an update on the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 plug door that flew out,” she begins. “On three previous flights, the pressurization warning light came on. So, instead of taking the plane out of the air completely and repairing it, they decided that it would be a good idea to only fly it on short-range flights over land and not over water, so it can make an emergency landing if the warning light went on again.”
Though she didn’t specify what source she was referencing, she appeared to be alluding to press conference comments covered by a number of media outlets. The New York Times noted, in its report, “The Alaska Airlines plane that lost a piece of its fuselage in midair on Friday was not being used in long flights over water because a pressurization warning light had gone off during three recent flights, the National Transportation Safety Board said on Sunday.”
The article also said that “Jennifer Homendy, the board’s chairwoman, said it was too soon to say whether the issue had played a role in the Friday incident.”
Jpall20 observed, in her video, “There was something wrong with this plane. They decided to fly it anyway, and this whole incident was avoidable.”
She went on to talk about a history of issues with Boeing planes, including the 737 Max 8, saying, “We know the problems that they faced with a Max 8 with two crashes in six months.”
Business Insider clarified in a recent story, “Two high-profile Max 8 crashes — one involving Indonesian carrier Lion Air and another involving Ethiopian Airlines — killed a total of 346 people in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Investigators later pinned the incident on the plane’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS … developed by Boeing [and] meant to help stabilize the aircraft should it start pointing upwards due to the massive weight and more forward position of its engines.”
The creator went on to charge Boeing and Alaska with a “profits over people” perspective.
@jpall20 Profits over people and its OBVIOUS #alaskaairlines #boeing #boeing737 #boeing737max #planecrash #planecrashes #pilots #airplanetiktok #airplanes ♬ Hard News – DM Production
Commenters brought additional insights.
“I worked in an aerospace mfg plant (Boeing was a customer),” one alleged. “They did indeed cut corners to meet the contract deadlines.”
The creator responded, “So many lives at risk every single day.”
Another said, “Oh that lawsuit payout for the passengers is about to be crazzzzzyyyy now.”
“Good for them,” said the creator. “It could have been MUCH worse.”
Another commenter defended Alaska Airlines, saying, “Sooo as someone who knows aviation inside and out, Alaska did more than most other airlines would’ve with the pressurization warning. It’s on Boeing.”
But that wasn’t satisfactory for Jpall20, who said, “That does not make anyone feel better. Clearly we need an overhaul of the aviation industry.”
Someone else remarked, “I don’t trust Boeing to get me anywhere safely now.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok comment and to Alaska Airlines via email.
