The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered airlines to ground more than 170 Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft for inspections on Saturday after an Alaska Airlines flight had a section of its fuselage break off mid-flight.
On Friday, Alaska Airlines grounded its entire fleet of Boeing 737 MAX-9 aircraft after a section of fuselage separated shortly after take off. Alaska Airlines flight 1282, bound for Ontario, Canada, successfully made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport in Oregon. Images and videos posted online show a rectangular section of the plane broken off, exposing the night sky and insulation material around the damaged area. People can also be seen sitting close to where the incident happened, although the seats directly next to the gap appear to be empty. No serious injuries were reported, according to federal safety officials.
Following the incident, the FAA took to X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday requiring immediate inspections of certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes before they can return to flight.
“The FAA will order the temporary grounding of certain Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft operated by U.S. airlines or in U.S. territory. The Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) that will be issued shortly will require operators to inspect aircraft before further flight that do not meet the inspection cycles specified in the EAD,” the FAA wrote.
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The EAD will affect about 171 planes and the required inspections will take around four to eight hours per aircraft.
“Safety will continue to drive our decision-making as we assist the @NTSB’s investigation into Alaska Airlines Flight 1282,” the FAA added in its statement on X.
Newsweek has reached out to the FAA via email for comment.
In response to the required inspections, Boeing agreed with the FAA’s decision, adding that it will support the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) investigation into Friday’s incident.
“Safety is our top priority and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers. We agree with and fully support the FAA’s decision to require immediate inspections of 737-9 airplanes with the same configuration as the affected airplane. In addition, a Boeing technical team is supporting the NTSB’s investigation into last night’s event. We will remain in close contact with our regulator and customers,” Boeing said in a statement.
Newsweek has also reached out to Boeing via email for comment.
This is not the first time concerns over Boeing 737 Max airplanes have been risen. Last month, a bolt with a missing nut was discovered by an international operator while conducting routine maintenance, an issue that launched immediate inspections of the aircraft.
“The issue identified on the particular airplane has been remedied,” a Boeing spokesperson previously told Newsweek. “Out of an abundance of caution, we are recommending operators inspect their 737 MAX airplanes and inform us of any findings. We informed the FAA and our customers and will continue to keep them aware of the progress.”
Boeing also learned last month of another undelivered plane with a nut that was not properly tightened. This comes roughly four years after Boeing faced scrutiny about safety shortcuts that allegedly caused two 737 Max aircrafts to crash, killing more than 300 people.
Boeing MAX aircrafts faced significant scrutiny following the two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019. Worldwide, all 737 MAX aircrafts were grounded in March 2019 for a year-and-a-half after issues with the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) led the two flights to go into automated nosedives.
The planes underwent significant modifications before being returned to service in December 2020.
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