Two air freight freight companies have said they will voluntarily recall the final thousands of vacuum packing doors on passenger planes due to evidence that the company in South Korea where the doors are made, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., is the source of the All India Radio incident in December.
This news comes just a day after a review board that was set up by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in light of the lockdown of passengers aboard a Southwest Airlines flight revealed that “deliberate and intentional jamming” of the doors by a person with a “tenacious determination to interfere with” the operating manual in one of the so-called “covid” vespers shuttles may have led to that shutdown.
As FoxNews.com reported Monday, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) released a set of detailed findings from its safety review of the incident, revealing that there were four in-flight crashes on Southwest planes as a result of the locking mechanisms, and several close calls during a five-month period.
According to the findings, US Airways claimed to be forced to land one of its aircraft due to the missing mechanism, and more recently a Frontier Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing after it crashed onto the hood of a ground and slid to a stop.
FoxNews.com previously reported on the available documents that suggest Southwest Airlines may have been using the same locking mechanisms on some planes, despite aviation rules barring planes from carrying any devices that can prevent doors from opening.
Now, a number of airlines, including domestic divisions of United Airlines, American Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Emirates are recalling the locks from their planes, FoxNews.com reported.
FoxNews.com also reported that a search of FAA’s database revealed that at least seven in-flight incidents were as a result of the locking mechanism not being located in the right place, but the latest report from the review board indicated that these were in addition to the four previously mentioned accidents.
Multiple airlines are voluntarily recalling the leaking locking mechanisms from aircraft. pic.twitter.com/rQZtsfMo9F — FOX: DOT (@DOTgov) March 19, 2019
The “covid” device is self-powered and does not need any fuel. However, it’s reported to open in flight if a sharp rise in temperature is detected.
Several airlines have already removed the locking mechanisms from their planes, including Britain’s Virgin Atlantic, which suspended both its World Traveller and NordConnect cabins on its A350 aircraft, which requires the safety mechanism to be left accessible to pilots.
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