The Boeing 737 Max 9 took off on Friday from Portland, California, and while at an altitude of 5 km, suddenly lost part of the fuselage reserved for additional doors.
“I open my eyes and the first thing I see is an oxygen mask right in front of me,” passenger Vi Nguyen, 22, of Portland, told The New York Times. “I look to the left, and there is no wall on the side.”
Fortunately, 20 minutes after takeoff, the pilots were able to successfully land the transport with all 171 passengers and 6 crew members on board, although some suffered minor injuries.
‘You are very sure, very nice here, that this is not the end in some more tradition,’ National Transportation Safety Board Jennifer traveling host after the cockpit panel blew out on Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 pic.
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 7, 2024
The aircraft was new and certified in November; it entered commercial service the same month and flew 145 flights. The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered the grounding of 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft currently operating in or outside the United States while an inspection is conducted.
Boeing 737 Max aircraft have already been grounded for almost two years after catastrophic incidents in 2018 in Indonesia (189 people died on board) and in 2019 in Ethiopia (157 people died). In 2021, Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion as part of a settlement with the Department of Justice to avoid criminal charges in the accidents.
Additional doors are usually installed by low-cost airlines that use more passenger seats and need an additional escape route. However, they are usually deactivated on planes with fewer passenger seats than in the case of Alaska Airlines. The fuselage (body of the aircraft) and the corresponding plug for the additional doors for the aircraft were manufactured by Spirit AeroSystems, which was spun off from Boeing in 2005.
According to aviation data provider Cirium, Alaska Airlines and United Airlines are the only US airlines using the Max 9. Alaska canceled 160 or 20% of scheduled flights and voluntarily grounded 65 Boeing Max 9 planes for inspections, while United canceled 115% departures and suspended the operation of 45 aircraft for inspection, but later resumed flights with 33 of them.
“Safety is our top priority, and we regret the impact this incident has had on our customers and their passengers,” Boeing spokeswoman Jessica Koval said in a statement. “We agree and fully support the FAA’s decision to require the immediate inspection of 737-9 aircraft with the same configuration as the affected aircraft.”
Boeing said last week it was urging airlines to inspect all 737 Max planes for a possible loosening of a bolt in the rudder control system.
Of the nearly 2.9 million flights scheduled worldwide for January, 4.3% were scheduled to fly with Max 8 aircraft, and 0.7% were expected to fly with Max 9. According to Boeing, the Max is the most popular aircraft in the company’s history. which accounts for a fifth of all orders since 1995.
