The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft a day after an Alaska Airlines plane was forced to make an emergency landing after a piece of fuselage on the side of the plane blew out, taking one of the passenger side windows with it. No one was injured in the dramatic incident.
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 was scheduled to travel from Portland International Airport (PDX) on Friday night to Ontario International Airport (ONT) in California. The flight was forced to make an emergency landing back at Portland International about a half hour after takeoff.
The order will impact 171 airplanes worldwide, but neither Air Canada or WestJet operate that model. Alaska Airlines has 65 MAX 9 aircraft, a significant percentage of its fleet. The other big North American carrier with MAX 9 aircraft in service is United Airlines, with 79. International carriers flying the aircraft include Aeromexico, Iceland Air, Turkish Airlines, and FlyDubai.
Alaska Airlines said on Saturday that it expects all “inspections will be completed in the next few days.” A significant percentage of Alaska's fleet will be grounded during that time, likely forcing cancellations for some Alaska passengers.
“The FAA is requiring immediate inspections of certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes before they can return to flight,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said Saturday. “Safety will continue to drive our decision-making as we assist the NTSB’s investigation into Alaska Airlines Flight 1282.”
Boeing also released a statement following the incident:
"Safety is our top priority and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers. We agree with and fully support the FAA's decision to require immediate inspections of 737-9 airplanes with the same configuration as the affected airplane. In addition, a Boeing technical team is supporting the NTSB's investigation. We will remain in close contact with our regulator and customers."
In an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD), the FAA said it will require airlines to undertake inspections of their MAX 9 fleet before returning them to operation. According to the regulator the required inspections will take around four to eight hours per aircraft.
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