(DailyDig.com) – In order to avoid another in-flight incident similar to the one that happened on an Alaska airplane, United Airlines and Alaska Airlines stopped all of their Boeing 737 Max 9 flights on January 7.
On the evening of January 5, flight 1282 of Alaska Airlines, a panel meant to seal off a space designated for an evacuation door, spontaneously experienced a blowout not long after taking off from Portland, Oregon. Safely returning to Portland International Airport, the depressurized airliner carried 171 passengers and 6 crew members. Thankfully, there were no significant injuries reported.
The two U.S. carriers that fly the Max 9, United and Alaska, were both grounded immediately after the incident, totaling 171 planes, so they could be examined by the FAA.
Less than twenty-four hours after the January 5 incident in Oregon, 18 of Alaska Airlines’ sixty-five 737 Max 9 planes were back in operation on January 6.
On January 7, the airline received an FAA alert indicating that those 18 aircraft would require further maintenance.
By mid-afternoon, Alaska Airlines had canceled 170 flights due to the groundings. This accounted for almost 20% of their schedule. According to them, these planes are no longer in operation until they confirm with the FAA any further repair specifics.
On January 7, United Airlines canceled 180 flights but saved others by utilizing additional aircraft that weren’t grounded. They said that they were patiently waiting for Boeing to send out a service advisory known as a “multi-operator message.” This is useful in situations where numerous airlines need the same maintenance for the same aircraft model.
A source close to the matter said that Boeing is now compiling a bulletin but has not yet sent it to the FAA. According to the source, it usually takes a couple of days to put up a comprehensive technical notice. Since neither the business nor the authorities have addressed the matter in public, the individual spoke on the condition of remaining anonymous.
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