FAA Temporarily Grounds Boeing 737 Max 9 Aircraft
The FAA has temporarily grounded Boeing Max 737-9 aircraft following an incident where fuselage came off a plane during take-off, sparking full safety inspections and a National Transport Safety Board investigation. The decision to ground Max737-9 aircraft impacts several...
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The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday temporarily grounded certain Boeing Max 737-9 aircraft "operated by U.S. airlines or in U.S. territory" following an Alaska Airlines incident on Friday in which a piece of fuselage came off a plane after take-off from Portland, Ore. The plane turned around and made a safe emergency landing, according to multiple reports.
We are working with Boeing and regulators to understand what occurred tonight, and will share updates as more information is available. The [National Transport Safety Board] is investigating this event, and we will fully support their investigation."
- Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci
Prior to the FAA's announcement, Alaska already had grounded its fleet of 65 Boeing Max 737-9 aircraft after the incident to begin full maintenance and safety inspections. The carrier anticipated the inspections would be completed "in the next few days."
"We are working with Boeing and regulators to understand what occurred tonight, and will share updates as more information is available," said Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci in a Friday evening statement. "The [National Transport Safety Board] is investigating this event, and we will fully support their investigation."
As of Saturday morning, Alaska had completed inspections on more than a quarter of its Max 737-9 fleet "with no concerning findings."
United Airlines anticipated that removing certain Max 737-9 aircraft would cause about 60 cancellations on Saturday, the carrier said in a statement. United has 79 of the airplanes affected, including 33 that have already received the necessary inspection required by the FAA, according to the carrier.
"We are working directly with impacted customers to find them alternative travel options," United said.
"Safety is our top priority, and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers," Boeing said in a statement. "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 into last night's event. We will remain in close contact with our regulator and customers."
Saturday's FAA decision to temporarily ground the Boeing Max 737-9 aircraft is less severe than the indefinite grounding of all Max-8 and -9 jets that began in March 2019. That order followed two deadly crashes of the Max-8 aircraft in flights operated by Ethiopian Airlines and Indonesian's Lion Air. The indefinite grounding lasted about 20 month and was lifted in November 2020.
