The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered the temporary grounding of certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft operated by US airlines or in US territory.
The FAA took the decision to ground the aircraft type on January 6 following the incident onboard an Alaska Airlines aircraft that lost part of its fuselage, forcing the crew to make an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon, on Friday January 5. The crew had reported a “pressurisation issue” shortly after take-off. Images from social media show a fuselage section missing on the midsection of the plane with oxygen masks deployed.
The 737 MAX 9, which carried 171 passengers and six crew, returned safely to Portland International Airport.
Boeing issued a statement on Friday on social media: “We are aware of the incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. We are working to gather more information and are in contact with our airline customer. A Boeing technical team stands ready to support the investigation.”
Alaska Air immediately grounded its MAX 9 fleet to begin inspections. As of 9am Pacific Time on January 9, the airline reported that it had inspected “more than a quarter” of its 737-9 fleet “with no concerning findings”. The airline added that the aircraft would “return to service as their inspections are completed with our full confidence”. However, the FAA has formalised the inspection of all 737-9 aircraft types before they can return to service.
“The FAA is requiring immediate inspections of certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes before they can return to flight,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said. “Safety will continue to drive our decision-making as we assist the NTSB’s investigation into Alaska Airlines Flight 1282.”
The Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) that the FAA said “will be issued shortly” will require operators to inspect aircraft before further flight that do not meet the inspection cycles specified in the EAD. The required inspections will take around four to eight hours per aircraft, said the FAA. Approximately 171 airplanes worldwide will be affected.
Data from Cirium shows there are 215 737MAX 9s in service. As well as 65 aircraft in service with Alaska, other major operators are United with 79 of the aircraft in service, and Copa with 29 in service.
In a statement on January 6, Boeing said it agreed with and fully supported the FAA’s decision to require immediate inspections of 737-9 aircraft with the same configuration as the affected aircraft, adding: “safety is our top priority and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers”. It also confirmed that a Boeing technical team is supporting the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB’s) investigation into the accident.