U.S. regulators ground Boeing 737 MAX 9 flights

U.S. regulators have taken the precautionary measure of temporarily halting the operation of 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 jetliners following a cabin panel blowout incident that compelled an Alaska Airlines jet to execute an emergency landing.

During its ascent from Portland, Oregon, bound for Ontario, California, on a Friday, a segment of the fuselage detached from the left side of the jet, compelling the pilots to promptly initiate a safe return and landing.

Remarkably, all 171 passengers and six crew members on board emerged unharmed, although several passengers sustained injuries. The plane had been in service for just eight weeks.

Late on Saturday, both Alaska Air and United Airlines announced the suspension of certain MAX 9 planes they had recently reinstated into service after inspections conducted in response to concerns raised by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

We are deeply sorry for the disruption the 737-9 MAX grounding has caused our guests. We expect the disruption to last through at least mid-week. For the very latest information visit: https://t.co/wVG6kzt4ru

— Alaska Airlines (@AlaskaAir) January 7, 2024

Alaska said it was in talks “to determine what, if any, further work is required before these aircraft are returned to service.”

The FAA decision is well short of the global grounding of Boeing MAX jets almost five years ago after two crashes that killed nearly 350 people. Still, it is a blow to Boeing as it tries to recover from back-to-back crises over safety and the pandemic under heavy debt.

Optional extra door

The FAA did not rule out further action as a probe began into the apparent structural failure, which left a rectangular hole in an area of fuselage reserved for an optional extra door but which is deactivated on Alaska’s aircraft.

Also Read: Boeing grounds dozens of 737 Max Jets

The Boeing 737 MAX 9s fitted with a special door replacement “plug” cannot fly until they are inspected and repaired if necessary, the FAA said.

“The FAA is requiring immediate inspections of certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes before they can return to flight,” FAA chief Mike Whitaker said.

Alaska Airlines jet’s social media posts revealed deployed oxygen masks, a missing section of the side wall, and a neatly shaped gap where the optional door’s fuselage section had vanished. Adjacent to the panel with an ordinary window, the unoccupied seat emphasized the extent of the incident.

The extra door is typically installed by low-cost airlines using extra seats that require more paths for evacuation. However, those doors are permanently “plugged,” or deactivated, on jets with fewer seats, including those of Alaska Airlines.

Kansas-based Spirit AeroSystems, which split from Boeing in 2005, produces the fuselage for Boeing 737s. The specific plug door that experienced the blowout was manufactured and installed by Spirit, as per a source.

The FAA did not say what the precise inspection requirements are or detail inspection intervals. Boeing said it supported the FAA decision.

The MAX 9 represents about 220 of the 1,400 MAX jets delivered so far, and most of them have the deactivated door, meaning they are potentially covered by the order.

Several foreign regulators, including China, have expressed interest in obtaining details about the incident, according to a person familiar with the matter. A report from Bloomberg earlier suggested that China, which was the first country to ground MAX flights in 2019, is currently deliberating whether to take further action in response to the recent event.

MAX planes were grounded worldwide for 20 months following the crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia linked to poorly designed cockpit software.