Boeing 737 Max 9s grounded, Alaska Airlines jet loses window: What travelers should know

The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded 171 of the Boeing 737 Max 9 planes worldwide after a hole blew out of an Alaska Airlines plane Friday night on a flight out of Portland, Oregon. No one was injured in the incident and the flight made a safe emergency landing back at Portland International Airport.

In a statement on Boeing's website, the aircraft company says: "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 into last night's event. We will remain in close contact with our regulator and customers."

But the involvement of the 737 Max airplane – previous safety concerns about the aircraft led to it being grounded for nearly two years – suggests there could be repercussions for the already troubled airplane fleet.

The National Transportation Safety Board has sent investigators to Portland to investigate the incident involving the Boeing 737 Max 9, Flight 1282 bound for Ontario, California.
 

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Boeing 737 Max 9 aircrafts grounded by FAA, Alaska Airlines

The FAA said its Emergency Airworthiness Directive, affecting about 171 airplanes worldwide, would require inspections taking four to eight hours. "Safety will continue to drive our decision-making as we assist the NTSB's investigation into Alaska Airlines Flight 1282," the agency said.

Before the FAA made their decision, Alaska Airlines had announced that it would be grounded its fleet of 65 Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes. But on Saturday, shortly before the FAA statement, Alaska Airlines said in a post on X that inspections had been done on more than a quarter of its 737 MAX 9 aircraft with "no concerning findings." Flights on the fleet will return to service after successful inspections.

Since the aircraft is used by other airlines including United Airlines, Copa Airlines, Aeromexico and Turkish Airlines – according to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company – other international agencies will be interested in any findings, too.

USA Today spoke with Shem Malmquist, instructor at college of aeronautics at the Florida Institute of Technology about the Alaska Airlines grounding.

What happened to the Boeing 737 Max 9 jet on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282?

Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 was at about 16,000 feet shortly after takeoff when an exit door plug, a section of the fuselage, blew out as the plane. The crew reported a "pressurization issue," according to the Federal Aviation Administration. One of the pilots declared an emergency and asked for clearance to descend to 10,000 feet (3 kilometers), the altitude where the air would have enough oxygen to breathe safely.

"We need to turn back to Portland,” the pilot told controllers in a calm voice that she maintained throughout the landing process.

When the wall of the plane just breaks off mid flight @AlaskaAir pic.twitter.com/pMWhpiHmFY

— Kyle Rinker (@Kyrinker) January 6, 2024

The Alaska Airlines plane apparently had "plugged" a section of the plane that could be used as an exit door, with another cabin piece without a door, Malmquist said. The number of exit doors needed on a plane is based on the seating configuration, with more exits required as the number of passengers accommodated rises.

Without an exit door there "it's a bit lighter ... and it is a pretty big advantage to do that," Malmquist said. If it's determined that this configuration caused the incident, other airlines may not have to cancel any other flights, he said.