FAA temporarily grounds certain Boeing 737 MAX 9s after emergency landing
Airlines (Commonwealth Union)_On Friday night, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner experienced a sudden blowout of a portion of its fuselage during takeoff, just seven minutes after takeoff from Oregon, prompting an emergency landing. The incident occurred shortly after take-off from Portland and the gaping hole caused the cabin to depressurize.
KPTV reported that the fire department responded to Friday’s incident and treated minor injuries at the scene, according to the Port of Portland. One person was taken for more treatment but was not seriously hurt.
The plane was diverted approximately six minutes following taking off, according to flight tracking data from the FlightAware website.
The pilot told Portland air traffic controllers that the aircraft faced an emergency, was depressurised and needed to return to the airport, according to a recording by the website LiveATC.net.
Alaska Airlines has led U.S. federal authorities to ground some Max 9 aircraft for inspection and had grounded all its Boeing 737-9 aircraft hours after a window and a piece of fuselage on one plane blew out in mid-air, making an emergency landing in Oregon.
Flight data showed that before returning to Portland International Airport, the plane climbed to 16,000ft. The airline stated that the aircraft landed safely with 174 passengers and six crew members.
The incident took place approximately 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) above Oregon, forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing. Luckily none of the 171 passengers or six crew members sustained serious injuries, but the rapid loss of cabin pressure caused oxygen masks to drop from the ceiling.
Federal Authorities’ Response In response to the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an emergency order grounding all Boeing Max 9 aircraft operated by U.S. airlines or flown into the country by foreign carriers until they undergo thorough inspections. This order affects approximately 171 planes worldwide. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has initiated an investigation that is expected to span several months. The focus of the investigation is on the panelled-over exit door called “door plug” that blew off during the flight that is installed on certain jets with fewer seats instead of an emergency exit panel. All jets ordered grounded by the FAA have these panels installed.
Authorities are actively searching for the missing door plug, that is believed to have landed near Oregon Route 217 and Barnes Road in the Cedar Hills area west of Portland.
The temporary grounding will impact tens of thousands of Alaska Airlines customers, resulting in significant flight cancellations, involving almost 30 per cent of the airline’s 227 Boeing 737 family aircraft.
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Alaska Airlines has canceled 163 flights on Sunday, representing approximately 21% of its scheduled flights, while United Airlines has canceled 247 flights, accounting for about 9% of its scheduled flights. Not all cancellations are attributed solely to the Max 9 crisis. Safety Concerns The incident has raised concerns about the safety of Boeing’s Max aircraft, particularly the Max 8 and Max 9 models. There have been fatal crashes in the past involving the Max 8, leading to worldwide groundings of the aircraft.
Just two months ago, the Boeing 737-9 Max involved in the incident had received its certification, according to online FAA records.
The Max is the newest version of Boeing’s 737. The model went into service in May 2017.
Two Max 8 jets crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people, leading to a near two-year worldwide grounding of all Max 8 and Max 9 planes. They returned to service only after Boeing made changes to an automated flight control system implicated in the crashes.
The plane involved in incident had received certification two months ago, according to online FAA records. Other airlines that operate the Max 9 include Panama’s Copa Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Icelandair, Aeromexico, flydubai, and SCAT Airlines in Kazakhstan. Copa Airlines has temporarily suspended 21 Boeing 737 Max 9s in compliance with the FAA’s order.
