Overview

Boeing 737 "Loose Bolts" Controversy refers to the fallout following a scary incident in early January 2024 when a Boeing 737 passenger plane had a mechanical issue in which a door flew off the side of a plane while in the air. Alaska Airlines later stated several of the Boeing planes they had were found to have "loose bolts." This led to a series of jokes and memes from people saying they "related" to the Boeing planes, while also raising alarm about the planes' safety over the following month.

Background

On January 5th, 2024, an Alaska Airlines flight of a Boeing 737 plane taking off from Portland had a scary moment when a portion of the side of the plane blew off, leaving a "refrigerator-sized" hole in the plane.^[1] Luckily, no one was seriously injured in the incident and the flight was able to make an emergency landing.

However, subsequent reporting on the incident boded ill for Boeing in the following weeks. In particular, a January 23rd report by NBC found that in Alaska Airlines' investigation of the incident, they found that several of the Boeing 737 planes they had had "loose bolts."^[2] "My demand on Boeing is what are they going to do to improve their quality programs in-house," said Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci.

On January 24th, 2024, a tweet by BNO News^[3] quoting the story garnered notable virality, gaining over 2,500 retweets and 5,500 likes in one week (shown below).

Developments

The revelation that the "loose bolts" problem was affecting multiple Boeing planes led to jokes and memes online in which people compared themselves to Boeing 737s. For example, on January 24th, 2024, Twitter / X user @lolenniu^[4] joked, "Whew, call me a Boeing 737 cause I’m barely holding it together," gaining over 3,500 retweets and 27,000 likes in one week (shown below, left). On January 25th, Twitter user @MorningBrew^[5] posted a similar joke, gaining over 40 retweets and 390 likes in one week (shown below, right).

On January 28th, Redditor districtcourt posted a meme to /r/terriblefacebookmemes^[6] with a similar premise and punchline, gaining over 4,100 points in three days (shown below).

On January 30th, 2024, Boeing 737s reportedly returned to the skies after a three-week grounding.^[7] They now face a rigorous, 12-hour safety inspection, which has restored some confidence in the planes, though two former Boeing employees are on record recommending people not fly the planes after witnessing the factory standards at Boeing.

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References