Boeing faces new questions about the 737 Max after a plane suffers a gaping hole in its side
Boeing faces new scrutiny about the safety of its best-selling plane after federal officials announced the temporary grounding of Boeing 737-9 Max planes on Saturday, following a harrowing flight in which an Alaska Airlines jetliner was left with a gaping hole in its side.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it was requiring immediate inspections of Max 9 planes operated by U.S. airlines or flown in the United States by foreign carriers.
The FAA’s emergency order, which it said will affect about 171 planes worldwide, is the latest blow to Boeing over the Max lineup of jets, which were involved in two deadly crashes shortly after their debut.
On Friday, a window panel blew out on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 Max seven minutes after takeoff from Portland, Oregon. The rapid loss of cabin pressure pulled the clothes off a child and caused oxygen masks to drop from the ceiling, but miraculously none of the 174 passengers and six members were injured. Pilots made a safe emergency landing.
Hours after the terrifying incident, Alaska Airlines announced that it would ground its entire fleet of 65 Max 9s for inspections and maintenance. CEO Ben Minicucci said Alaska expects the inspections to be completed “in the next few days.”
Even a short grounding will pose significant problems for the airline and its passengers — the Max 9 accounts for more than one-fourth of Alaska's fleet. On Saturday, Alaska canceled about 100 flights, or 13% of its schedule, by midmorning on the West Coast, according to FlightAware.
United Airlines also operates a large fleet of 737-9 Max jets. A United spokesman said Saturday the airline had nothing yet to announce about its Max
