“The section of the fuselage missing appeared to correspond to an exit not used by Alaska Airlines, or other carriers that don’t have high-density seating configurations, and was plugged.”
A door plug blew out of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 with 171 passengers and six crew on board. Nobody was sitting in the two seats next to it, and the plane was still climbing with seatbelts on. A day earlier Boeing was asking the FAA for a safety exemption on the MAX 7. Luck is now the only Boeing safety system anyone can vouch for.