The Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday demanded the grounding and urgent inspection of nearly 170 Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft all over the world after an incident mid-flight late on Friday that involved an aircraft owned by Alaska Airlines.
“The FAA is requiring immediate inspections on certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes prior to their take off,” the agency’s administrator Mike Whitaker said in a statement.
The decision is based on the Alaska Airlines flight was forced to make an abrupt landing within Portland, Ore., on Friday night. Alongside the FAA as well as The National Transportation Safety Board is also looking into the incident.
The night before, Alaska Airlines grounded and required a fleet-wide examination of their Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft. This past Saturday United Airlines also suspended services on the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft as per FAA’s requests. The airline informed NPR that the grounded aircraft would cause around 60 cancellations of flights on Saturday.
Southwest Airlines and American Airlines both told NPR they don’t carry the Boeing 747 Max 9s. However, they do have Boeing 737 Max8s both airlines have said that the model doesn’t cause any issues.
“The MAX -8 aircraft in our current fleet as well as the -7 aircraft in our future fleet don’t have the plug for exits that was that was involved in the Friday night incident. Our operation and fleet are not affected,” an Southwest spokesperson stated in an announcement.
The Indian aviation regulator demanded immediate inspection for every Boeing Max 737 aircraft owned by Indian operator, Reutersreported. None of the air companies in India are believed to be operating the same model that crashed on the streets of Portland the city on Friday.
The incident occurred just four years since Boeing Max aircraft were allowed to transport with passengers across the U.S. All Boeing Max aircraft were shut down around the world in 2019 after two fatal crashes involving Max 8 jets.
This week, Boeing urged the FAA to inspect the 737 Max jets for loose bolts following the discovery of at least two planes that had incorrectly tightened nuts.
In an announcement, Boeing spokesperson Jessica Kowal said that the company supports FAA’s request to conduct inspections.
“Safety is our number one priority, and we are deeply disappointed by the negative impact this incident has affected our customers as well as the passengers they carry,” Kowal said. “In the meantime there is a Boeing tech team has been assisting the NTSB’s investigation into the incident. We will be in constant contact with our regulator as well as our customers.”
What transpired on Friday night?
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 took off from Portland, Ore., just following five p.m. PST on Friday and was headed to Ontario, Calif. According to posts on social media the plane’s window and part of the fuselage was ripped off in midair leaving a huge hole in the left side of the plane.
Oxygen masks were put on during the return flight back to Portland International Airport at 5:26 p.m. PST according reports on FlightAware.com. The plane had seven crew members aboard. There were no injuries or fatalities were reported.
KPTV KPTV reported that firefighters from the local fire department arrived to treat minor wounds. One person was in need of more medical treatment.
“We have been working closely with Boeing and the regulators to better understand the events of tonight and will provide updates when more details become made available.” Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said in a statement.
The airline halted all it’s Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft in the late afternoon of Friday, allowing it to examine each one. As of Saturday morning, Alaska Airlines said it has completed inspections of more than one quarter of its aircrafts and that there were “no issues with the results.”
The company also stated that it would return the planes to service once their inspections are complete “with complete confidence.” Airline is expecting inspections of all aircraft of the Boeing 737 Max 9 over the coming days.
Boeing 737 Max’s troubled history
The safety concerns of the plane were in the spotlight after fatal accidents at the airports of Indonesia at the end of 2018 as well Ethiopia in the year 2019 — that killed 346 people. After a global halt in the year 2019 Boeing 737 Max completed its first U.S. commercial flight in December 2020.
The company’s recently introduced the flight controller was largely responsible. Both times the system dubbed MCAS was triggered by a malfunctioning sensor that caused both planes to incorrectly dive into the air even as pilots attempted to recover control.
It wasn’t just manufacturing faults. The study by the inspector general of the Department of Transportation general revealed that the company did not inform regulators of the critical changes that it made to the aircraft’s flight controls. This report found that Boeing did this to accelerate the plane’s certification process.
in 2021 Boeing was able to settle a settlement of over $2.5 billion in order to pay an indictment connected to the crash. The agreement stipulated that Boeing was required to pay a penalty of $243.6 million, while the remaining $500 million was allocated to the families of those whose loved ones died during the crashes. A large portion part of the agreement was fenced off for airlines that bought the infamous 737 Max planes.
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