An emergency landing of an Alaska Airlines jet last Friday prompted US authorities to ground most of Boeing’s 737 Max 9 planes, another black mark in the troubled history of the company’s Max jets
An emergency landing of an Alaska Airlines jet last Friday prompted U.S. authorities to ground most of Boeing’s 737 Max 9 planes, another black mark in the troubled history of the company’s Max jets. Here’s what you need to know.
U.S. aviation authorities have launched an investigation focused on a paneled exit door – a so-called door plug – that blew the passenger plane shortly after takeoff. Airlines have the option to install a door plug in place of a true emergency exit door. Although Boeing’s Max planes have been plagued with problems, no previous incidents have seen such outbursts as this, which is extremely rare in aviation. None of the passengers or crew on the flight were seriously injured.
The emergency grounding order affected approximately 171 aircraft with door plugs installed, including the vast majority of the approximately 218 Max 9s in service around the world. Alaska and United Airlines are the only two U.S. passenger airlines that operate Max 9 aircraft.
Investigators said Sunday they found the missing door plug and were examining it for clues. Alaska and United said Monday that preliminary inspections identified what they called “loose hardware” or “bolts requiring additional tightening” in the door plugs of grounded aircraft.
No US jets have been involved in a fatal crash since 2009. But an increase in close calls between planes at U.S. airports prompted the FAA to convene a “safety summit” last year to emphasize the need for careful flying.
The Alaska Airlines incident has also raised new questions about the safety of Boeing’s Max 8 and Max 9 planes, the latest versions of the company’s legendary 737, although previous problems were not related to Friday’s blaze. Up to 8 planes were grounded for almost two years after two crashes in 2018 and 2019.