In an astonishing twist to the Alaska Airlines tragedy, educator Bob Sauer’s Sunday evening backyard search in Cedar Hills, Portland, Oregon, resulted in a momentous discovery.
Sauer went into his tree-filled property with a flashlight, inspired by US officials’ plea for local aid in identifying a missing door plug from a Boeing 737 MAX 9.
This document was critical to the continuing inquiry into the airplane that had to land in an emergency due to depressurization.
A Gleaming Find Among the Trees
Reuters quotes Bob Sauer as saying, “In the flashlight beam, I could see something gleaming white underneath the trees that isn’t normally there.”
He discovered a mid-cabin door plug, which is a panel used to substitute an exit on planes modified to transport more passengers.
The panel’s distinguishing elements – the curvature matching the fuselage of an aircraft and a plane-type window – made it undeniably a part of the aircraft.
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The Investigation’s Impact and Next Steps
Sauer’s revelation, a heart-pounding moment when he recognized the gravity of his discovery, has spurred the inquiry forward.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which had identified Cedar Hills as a possible landing site for the debris, has since taken the panel to its Washington laboratory for additional analysis.
Oregon schoolteacher finds missing Boeing plane part in backyard trees https://t.co/10wXCdmD2E pic.twitter.com/PW3p5HlRjv
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 9, 2024
This advancement is an essential step in understanding the events that led to the plane’s emergency landing, emphasizing the need for community involvement in such investigations.