U.S. to inspect Boeing 737 MAX aircraft after serious air incident
In the U.S., a portion of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft will undergo inspection (photo: Getty Images)
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered the temporary grounding of certain Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft. The decision was made after an Alaska Airlines plane experienced an emergency landing due to the loss of part of the aircraft during the flight, reports CNN.
The FAA's decision came after Alaska Airlines chose to temporarily halt all its Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft as a precautionary measure following an incident on January 5.
The plane, carrying 171 passengers and six crew members, was flying from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California. Shortly after takeoff, the crew noticed a pressurization issue. It was revealed that a window and a section of the fuselage had come off the aircraft.
The plane remained in the air for about 20 minutes and subsequently landed safely in Portland. The incident is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board.
Checks will affect approximately 170 aircraft worldwide and will take between four to eight hours for each aircraft.
On Saturday, January 6, Alaska Airlines reported that 18 out of 65 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft in the carrier's fleet were returned to service after thorough inspections. The remaining checks will be completed in the next few days.
The aircraft underwent an in-depth and thorough examination of door seals.
Incidents involving Boeing 737 MAX aircraft
In late December 2023, Boeing Corporation identified a weakened bolt in the rudder control system of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, which could impact the aircraft's control.
In October 2018, a Boeing 737 MAX operated by Lion Air crashed over the Java Sea in Indonesia. Equipment issues and pilot errors were cited as the causes.
On March 10, 2019, shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa airport in Ethiopia, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX crashed en route to Kenya. All 149 passengers on board perished. Following the incident, several countries suspended flights of Boeing 737 MAX 8.
The crashes were attributed to faulty onboard software. The same software issue led to the crash of a Boeing 737 MAX in Indonesia in October 2018.
After addressing the defects, most countries around the world resumed flights of this aircraft model.
