By A United Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 taking off from LAX in September 2023. | Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images
United Airlines says it discovered loose bolts holding on door plugs like the one that blew out of an Alaska Airlines flight on Friday, causing the plane to make an emergency landing back at its originating airport. A representative for United who only identified themselves as “Erin” told The Verge in an email that since beginning inspections of the planes on Saturday, it has “found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug — for example, bolts that needed additional tightening.”
The Air Current first reported that United had found loose plugs on “at least” five aircraft. Now, United has confirmed the discovery and says its technicians will remedy the installation issues and “safely return the aircraft to…