FAA requires inspection of some Boeing 737 MAX 9s before flights resume By Reuters
© Reuters. People sit next to missing windows and part of a side wall from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, which suffered decompression shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, on January 5, 2024. this
David Shepherdson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Aviation Administration issued an order on Saturday temporarily grounding certain Boeing (NYSE:) 737 MAX 9 aircraft until inspections are performed after an Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing last Friday due to a ruptured cabin panel. I did.
The guidance applies to 171 aircraft, but leaves open questions about how recently they must be inspected before further flights take place, or whether it details the exact inspection requirements.
The FAA said the potential in-flight loss of a mid-cabin door plug “could result in injury to passengers and crew, impact of the door against the airplane, or loss of control of the airplane.”
A structural failure on a plane operated by Alaska Airlines on Friday left a rectangular hole in the fuselage area reserved for an optional additional door, which was disabled on the Alaska Airlines plane and fitted with a special door replacement “plug.”
The FAA’s emergency airworthiness guidelines require operators to inspect aircraft before further flights if they do not meet the required inspection intervals, but do not detail exact numbers.
The FAA must approve any inspection requirements that Boeing proposes.
The FAA says the required inspections will take approximately four to eight hours per aircraft.
After voluntarily and temporarily grounding 65 737 MAX 9 aircraft Saturday morning, Alaska Airlines said: “It has been confirmed that 18 aircraft recently underwent in-depth and thorough plug door inspections as part of a major maintenance visit. These 18 aircraft were terminated today. “Services have been cleared to resume.”
United Airlines, the only U.S. airline that operates Boeing’s 737 MAX 9 jets, said it had temporarily taken 45 of its 737 MAX 9 aircraft out of service but would continue to operate 33 that had already undergone required inspections required by the FAA.
Alaska canceled about 140 flights, or 18% of its scheduled operations on Saturday, and United said it expected to cancel 60 flights due to service issues, according to FlightAware.
“We support the FAA’s swift and decisive action to ground certain 737 MAX 9 aircraft that do not meet the inspection cycles specified in the Emergency Airworthiness Directive,” said Sara Nelson, president of the Aircrew Association (CWA).
Lawmakers called for quick action if problems are discovered. “The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the FAA must fully investigate this incident to address alarming safety violations,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, the highest-ranking Republican on the committee that oversees the FAA.
