Boeing jets grounded after mid-flight terror
WASHINGTON: The US air safety regulator is grounding some Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplanes pending inspections just a day after a panel blew out of one of the planes over the western state of Oregon.
The Federal Aviation Administration “is requiring immediate inspections of certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes before they can return to flight,” the agency said on X.
It said about 171 aircraft worldwide would be affected, with each inspection taking four to eight hours.
“Safety will continue to drive our decision-making,” the FAA statement said.
Alaska Airlines and United Airlines fly the largest number of MAX 9 planes, while Icelandair and Turkish Airlines operate smaller fleets.
Boeing has so far delivered 218 737 MAX 9 planes to airlines worldwide.
US-based Alaska Airlines grounded all 65 of its Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes on Friday after a flight carrying 171 passengers and six crew was forced to make an emergency landing, with passengers saying a window panel blew out after takeoff.
Alaska Flight 1282 had departed from Portland International Airport and was still gaining altitude when the cabin crew reported a “pressurisation issue,” according to the FAA. The plane quickly returned to Portland, and there were no major injuries.
Images posted on social media showed a side panel of the plane blown out, with emergency oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling.
“Following tonight’s event on Flight 1282, we have decided to take the precautionary step of temporarily grounding our fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft,” Alaska Airlines chief executive Ben Minicucci said in a statement.
“Each aircraft will be returned to service only after completion of full maintenance and safety inspections.”
Passenger Kyle Rinker told CNN a window popped off soon after takeoff. “It was really abrupt. Just got to altitude, and the window/wall just popped off,” he said.
The Oregonian newspaper quoted passengers as saying no one was sitting in the seat next to the panel, but that a young boy in the middle seat had his shirt ripped off by the sudden decompression, injuring him slightly.
Another passenger, Vi Nguyen, told The New York Times that a loud noise during the flight had woken her.
“I open up my eyes and the first thing I see is the oxygen mask right in front of me,” Ms Nguyen told the newspaper. “I look to the left and the wall on the side of the plane is gone.
“The first thing I thought was, ‘I’m going to die’.”
Aviation specialist John Ostrower, of the Air Current website, said the affected panel was actually a “mid-aft door”, which, for some carriers, Boeing deactivates before delivering the new planes.
“While this type of occurrence is rare,” the airline said in an earlier statement, “our flight crew was trained and prepared to safely manage the situation.”
Alaska Airlines said more than a fourth of its Max 9 fleet had been inspected since the incident, with nothing noteworthy being found.
The plane, which had been headed to Ontario, California, was certified airworthy in October and was newly delivered to Alaska Airlines.