Top US diplomat Antony Blinken switched planes on Davos trip after Boeing 737 suffered technical failure
CNN reported. The top US diplomat had traveled to Davos for the annual World Economic Forum on Monday and was scheduled to fly back to Washington on Wednesday. A Bloomberg report said the aircraft was a Boeing plane.
After flying from Davos to Zurich on helicopters and boarding the modified Boeing Co. 737, Blinken and his party were informed that the aircraft had been deemed unsafe to fly. An oxygen leak detected previously could not be remedied.
While faults are not uncommon on aircraft, the glitch comes at a difficult time for Boeing. The company has had many of its 737 Max 9 aircraft grounded by regulators following an accident on an Alaska Airlines jet on January 5, Bloomberg reported. The jet being used by Blinken is an older variant of the 737, and is designated as the C40 by the US Air Force.
Members of the press traveling with him and his aides were told to make arrangements to fly back to Washington commercially. The Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum provides a platform for thought leaders, policymakers, and industry experts to exchange ideas and perspectives on critical global issues. Last September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau got stuck in India after a Group of 20 summit in New Delhi after a mechanical fault with his plane.
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