Federal officials in the United States have ordered the temporary grounding of Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners until they are inspected, after an Alaska Airlines plane suffered a blowout that left a gaping hole in the side of the fuselage.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Mike Whitaker said on Saturday that the agency is requiring immediate inspections of certain planes before they can return to flight. The order impacts 171 airplanes worldwide. Required inspections will take around four to eight hours per aircraft.
Flight 1282 and our next steps with the Boeing MAX-9: https://t.co/LFxJvQYNcA pic.twitter.com/oemRokr1tz
— Alaska Airlines (@AlaskaAir) January 6, 2024
In a statement on Saturday, Boeing said it fully supports the FAA decision.
Earlier on Saturday, Alaska Airlines said it was grounding its fleet of 737-9 aircraft after an incident the previous day saw a plane window and piece of fuselage blow out midair, forcing an emergency landing in Portland, in the US state of Oregon.
The incident took place shortly after takeoff and the hole caused the cabin to depressurise. Flight data showed the plane climbed to 16,000 feet (4,876 metres) before returning to Portland International Airport.
The airline said Flight 1282 – which was bound for Ontario, California – landed safely with 174 passengers and six crew members.
