Boeing shares plummet nearly NINE PERCENT in early trading after FAA grounds 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes following Alaska Airlines mid-air blowout that nearly ended in catastrophe

Shares of Boeing fell nearly nine percent in premarket trading after the FAA grounded its 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes after disaster nearly struck an Alaska Airlines jet.

Shares of Boeing Corp fell 8.6 percent on Monday, just days after federal regulators grounded about 171 planes worldwide on Saturday.

The aircraft manufacturer could lose about $12.5 billion in value if losses continue if the market remains open.

Meanwhile, shares of Alaska Air fell 4.3 percent, while United Airlines, the other US carrier that operates the plane, fell 2.4 percent.

It comes after terrified passengers said they feared for their lives on Friday after an emergency exit used as a cabin window flew off the Alaskan Airlines flight from Portland to California at 16,000 feet.

An emergency exit used as a cabin window blew out of Alaskan Airlines flight from Portland to California at 16,000 feet

There were no serious injuries from Friday's terrifying air disruption, but passengers' belongings, including phones, flew off the plane

Alaskan Airlines quickly made the move after the near-disaster in Portland on Friday, with CEO Ben Minicucci saying in a statement that the planes will not return to the fleet until preventive maintenance procedures are completed, which he expected “in the coming days '. .'

In a statement shared with X on Saturday, the regulator said it requires immediate inspections of certain jets before they can return to the skies.

The FAA's decision to ground the fleet of Boeing 737 MAX 9s comes after several airlines and regulators took similar steps.

Boeing competes with Airbus, which has increased its market share since two Boeing MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed nearly 350 people and grounded the MAX worldwide for 20 months.

Airbus shares rose more than 1 percent early on Monday. The company will announce this week that it delivered 735 planes last year, beating Boeing and remaining the world's largest aircraft maker for the fifth year in a row, industry sources said.

There were no serious injuries from Friday's terrifying air disruption, but passengers' belongings, including phones, flew off the plane.

According to airline The Air Current, the plane involved in the incident was scrutinized by officials just a day before its window blew out.

The flight that was scheduled to arrive at Ontario International in California returned Friday evening after the plug door came loose

This image from a video by Elizabeth Le shows passengers close to the damage to an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9, Flight 1282, which was forced to return to Portland International Airport on Friday, January 5, 2024. (Elizabeth Le via AP)

The outlet claimed that on January 4, an intermittent warning light appeared as it taxied to a terminal from an earlier flight, prompting the airline to remove it from Extended Range Operations (ETOPS). Later that same day, during a separate flight, the warning returned.

The Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft involved in the incident had reportedly only entered service in November 2023 and was virtually new by aviation standards, having reportedly completed fewer than 200 flights before the incident.

The NTSB has launched an investigation that will likely last months and is focusing on the paneled exit door that was blown off. On some jets that have fewer seats, the so-called door plug is installed instead of an emergency exit panel. The aircraft ordered to be grounded by the FAA all have these panels installed.

Investigators said Sunday they found the door plug and hoped it would provide physical evidence of what went wrong.