Alaska Air grounds 737 Max fleet after midair panel blowout
Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) grounded its fleet of 65 Boeing (NYSE:BA) 737 Max planes after an incident involving a section of one of the planes ripping off in midair during a flight.
The 737 Max plane was forced to turn around and make an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon Friday evening. All 171 passengers and six crew members were safe but shaken after the event.
The aircraft in question was delivered to Alaska Airlines in October and certified by the FAA in early November.
“Each aircraft will be returned to service only after completion of full maintenance and safety inspections,” said Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci after the grounding.
Boeing said it is investigating the event.
“We are aware of the incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight 1282," a Boeing spokesperson said. “We are working to gather more information and are in contact with our airline customer."
The 737 Max was the plane grounded for about two years after crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people. Those crashes involved the smaller 737 MAX 8.
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