PUTRAJAYA: Transport Minister Anthony Loke said no information had been received about a "Made in Malaysia" door plug allegedly blown-off an Alaska Airline flight recently.
"(As such) I cannot comment on that. First, it is not under our jurisdiction, so I cannot comment in general.
"Also, we do not know if it is true or not. We are only following the media reports as an observer now.
"If there is any official report from the airline, we will ask the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) to look into the issue," he told reporters.
On Jan 5, a Boeing 737 MAX 9 door plug was reported to have been torn off from Alaska Airlines flight 1282 at an altitude of approximately 16,000 feet (4,877 m).
A report by the Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) news portal alleged that the serial number and additional manufacturing details of the door plug seemed to be handwritten with a permanent marker.
This included the words "Made in Malaysia".
National flag carrier Malaysia Airlines currently operates three Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft and is expecting another six this year.
CAAM chief executive officer Captain Norazman Mahmud, who was also present at the press conference, said Batik Airlines and Malaysia Airlines have completed the recommended rudder check their Boeing 737 MAX fleets.
He was commenting on the recent CAAM instruction made on Jan 4, requesting flight operators to conduct a one-time inspection on their Boeing 737 MAX fleets for a rogue nut as listed in an advisory from the aircraft manufacturer, Boeing.
"It is not mandatory for MAX 8 to check, but the airlines have completed the check as per our recommendation. No findings (of anything out of the ordinary)," he said, while stressing that the check was only mandatory for the MAX 9 model but recommended for other MAX variants.
Malaysia Airlines and Batik Air have also confirmed to Business Times that no untoward findings were found during the recent inspection.
