The US Federal Aviation Administration has grounded six Boeing 737 Max 9 airplanes after an exterior portion of one of the planes broke off during an Alaska Airlines flight. The checks would affect 171 planes, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Alaska Airlines aeroplane had to make an emergency landing in the US state of Oregon on Friday.
The jet, which was carrying 177 passengers and crew, successfully landed in Portland. The FAA stated in a statement that it “will order the temporary grounding of certain Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft operated by US airlines or on US territory.” It is estimated that required inspections will take four to eight hours per aircraft.
According to flight monitoring data, the Alaska Airlines flight to Ontario, California, had reached 16,000 feet (4,876 metres) when it began its emergency descent. Images released to news outlets showed the night sky visible through the fuselage opening, as well as insulation material and other debris.
There were no early reports of casualties or indications of the reason of the apparent structural breakdown. “There was a really loud bang towards the left rear of the plane and a woosh noise — and all the air masks dropped,” Evan Smith, one of the 171 passengers on board, said.
“They said there was a kid in that row who had his shirt sucked off him and out of the plane and his mother was holding onto him to make sure he didn’t go with it.” In an audio clip, the pilot can be heard talking to air traffic control requesting a diversion. “We are an emergency,” she said. “We are depressurized, we do need to return back.”
The afflicted region, according to pictures, was in the plane’s back third, behind the wing and engines. Some operators, but not Alaska, appear to be able to employ the fuselage part involved as a second emergency exit door.
Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci announced the initial grounding of 65 planes, saying, “Each aircraft will be returned to service only after completion of full maintenance and safety inspections.”
According to a subsequent announcement, more than a quarter of those planes had been assessed and will be returned to service if no problems were discovered. It’s the latest issue with Boeing’s best-selling jet, which has been grounded for over two years following disasters in 2018 and 2019.
Not an unprecedented incident for airlines industry
In 2018, Lion Air Flight 610, a 737 Max 8, crashed into the sea off the coast of Indonesia, killing all 189 passengers and crew members. Less than five months later, in 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed shortly after departing Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people on board.
The Max aircraft were grounded following the second disaster. Boeing modified the jet, including the flight control system that caused the crashes, and the F.A.A. allowed it to fly again in late 2020. In 2021, the firm agreed to a $2.5 billion settlement with the Justice Department, which resolved a criminal claim that Boeing conspired to deceive the department.
Boeing advised airlines in December to assess all 737 Max aircraft for a suspected loose bolt in the rudder-control system after one international airline identified a bolt with a missing nut during normal maintenance. Alaska Airlines stated at the time that it expected its fleet inspections to be completed in the first part of January.
Max aircraft are widely used. In January, over 2.9 million flights are scheduled throughout the world, with 4.3 percent using Max 8 planes and 0.7 percent utilising the Max 9. According to corporate figures, the Max is the most popular jet in Boeing’s history, accounting for one-fifth of all orders placed since 1955.
