What SpiritAerosystems learned from a 737 Max 9 incident

In 2024, a 737 Max 9 took off from Portland en route to Los Angeles when crisis struck. The door of  Alaska Airlines flight 1282 malfunctioned and the aircraft had to make an emergency landing shortly after takeoff.

But SpiritAerosystems, the makers of the aircraft’s door, jumped into action when they learned of the event.

Action can’t wait in the event of crisis, said Joe Buccino, communications director at Spirit Aerosystems and co-founder at the firm Vantage + Vox, during the PR Daily Conference. It’s imperative to act quickly, release a statement and continue gathering information.

“What do we know immediately?” he said. “People may think, ‘Oh, we don’t know enough yet,’ but gather what you do know.” If you know enough, you must make a statement quickly, Buccino said.

They didn’t know why or how the incident happened at the time, Buccino said. But about a half hour after the event, the Associated Press reported on the moment and said the door of the plane was built by Spirit Aerosystems.