Antony Blinken is STRANDED in Davos as his government Boeing 737 is deemed unsafe over oxygen leak in latest catastrophe for manufacturer after its market value lost $30B

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was unable to fly home from Davos as planned on Wednesday after a problem with his government-owned Boeing plane forced a change of plans.

After boarding the modified military Boeing 737, Blinken and his entourage were told that a previously discovered oxygen leak could not be fixed, making the plane unsafe to fly. Bloomberg reported.

Blinken waited for a smaller government plane to be sent from Brussels to Zurich, while most of his aides and the traveling press booked commercial flights to Washington DC.

Boeing’s safety performance and manufacturing processes have been under scrutiny since a panel ripped off an Alaska Airlines plane during flight near Portland, Oregon on January 5, leaving a hole in the side of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft.

Boing’s shares closed Tuesday at $200.52, down nearly 20 percent from the Jan. 5 closing price before the Alaska Airlines incident, which wiped $30 billion off the company’s market capitalization.

The Foreign Office did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.

Blinken was in Davos to speak at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort, where he called a path to a Palestinian state a necessity for Israeli security.

Boeing shares are under further pressure this week after Wells Fargo analysts downgraded the stock on Tuesday.

The Wells Fargo report, titled “FAA Audit Opens a Whole New Can of Worms,” ​​cites the FAA’s plan to review Boeing’s inspections of the 737 MAX 9 planes before they are allowed to fly again.

“Given Boeing’s recent track record and the FAA’s greater incentive to discover issues, we believe the likelihood of a clean audit is slim,” the analysts said.

“The FAA’s audit is limited to Max 9 for now, but it’s possible the findings could expand the scope to other Max models that share common parts.”

The FAA said Wednesday that inspections of an initial group of 40 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft have been completed, a major hurdle to eventually dismantling the planes.

The FAA grounded 171 MAX 9 aircraft on January 6 pending approval of inspections and maintenance requirements.

Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, the two American airlines that operate the affected aircraft, have had to cancel hundreds of flights since last week.

Blinken was in Davos to speak at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in the Swiss ski resort, where he called a path to a Palestinian state a necessity for Israeli security.

Boing’s shares closed Tuesday at $200.52, down nearly 20 percent from their Jan. 5 closing price before the Alaska Airlines incident

The Federal Aviation Administration has announced it will audit Boeing’s production line and its suppliers after the door blew off in mid-air on an Alaska Airlines plane

On Wednesday, the FAA said all 737-9 MAX aircraft with door plugs will remain on the ground pending the agency’s review and final approval of an inspection and maintenance process.

“The safety of the flying public, and not speed, will determine the timetable for returning these aircraft to service,” the agency said.

The chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the FAA safety chief will brief senators on the investigation on Wednesday, sources told Reuters.

Boeing on Tuesday appointed a retired US Navy admiral to advise the aircraft manufacturer’s CEO on improving quality control.

Kirkland H. Donald will serve as a special advisor to Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, Boeing said.

Donald will lead a team of external experts in evaluating quality practices at Boeing Commercial Airplanes and its supply chain, and will make recommendations to the Calhoun and Boeing boards of directors.