FAA orders temporary grounding of some 737 Max jets after mishap

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered the temporary grounding and inspections of some Boeing Co. 737 Max 9 aircraft, a day after a fuselage section on a brand-new Alaska Airlines jet blew out shortly after takeoff, leaving a gaping hole.

The move affects about 171 planes worldwide, according to a statement by the FAA. Alaska, the world’s second biggest operator of the type, had already grounded its Max 9 fleet in the wake of Friday’s incident after takeoff from Portland, Oregon. United Airlines Holdings Inc., the model’s top operator, also took some of the jets out of service for inspections, while Aeromexico also said it will ground its Max 9 planes for checks. 

“Safety will continue to drive our decision-making as we assist the NTSB’s investigation into Alaska Airlines Flight 1282,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in a post on X.

The forced grounding marks the most severe response to an incident since the manufacturer’s entire fleet of Max aircraft was temporarily taken out of service in 2019 following two deadly crashes. The 737 Max is by far Boeing’s most popular aircraft and its biggest source of revenue, with single-aisle aircraft like the Max and the corresponding Airbus SE A320neo family used on the most widely flown shorter routes.

Only two US airlines operate the 737 Max 9 variant: United Airlines Holdings Inc., with 79, and Alaska with 65. Alaska said in an update that it had completed inspection on “more than a quarter” of its 737-9 fleet, without making any concerning findings. Eighteen planes that have the same design feature as the Flight 1282 jet recently underwent inspection as part of regular maintenance and returned to service without a second review. The remaining inspections should be completed in the next few days, the airline said.

United said 33 of its Max 9 jets already had the inspection required by the FAA. It said about 60 flights would be canceled on Saturday. “We are working directly with impacted customers to find them alternative travel options,” the airline said in a statement.

Flight 1282 was carrying 171 passengers and six crew from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California on Jan. 5 when the crew reported a pressurization issue. What followed was a rear left part of the fuselage blowing out, leaving the hole resembling the opening for a door. The aircraft returned to Portland about 20 minutes after takeoff, having reached an altitude of about 16,000 feet (4,800 meters).

Inside the aircraft, which was delivered to Alaska Airlines only in October, part of the cabin wall had also torn off, exposing insulation material, images on social media showed. Video footage showed the aircraft landing in Portland in darkness, with passengers seated close to the gaping hole. Nobody was seriously injured.

“A mini boom or mini explosion rattled and kind of shook the plane,” said Nicholas Hoch, a 33-year-old architect who was on the plane, adding that there was an instantaneous depressurization of the cabin. “The best way I can describe it is as this white vapor or cloud just rushed through the plane and, you know, blew my head back a little bit. My hat flew off and that was jarring to say the least.” 

The cabin lights flickered and air masks dropped from the ceiling, Hoch said. No one was sitting in two seats next to where the door blew out, or “this story would have been a lot different,” he added. The decompression sucked the shirt off of a teenage boy in the row before, leaving him with with some abrasions. Others nearby lost cell phones, ear buds and other items as air left the cabin, he said.

China’s aviation regulator is conducting an emergency meeting to consider a response to the incident, including a possible grounding of the Boeing Max fleet in the country, according to two people familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. The aircraft variant involved in the Alaska Air incident isn’t flown by Chinese carriers.

China was the first country to ground the 737 Max after the two crashes several years ago. Relations have only gradually improved, with China taking the first delivery of a larger 787 model in several years in December. It has yet to resume 737 deliveries.

The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the matter. Boeing said it supports the FAA move and that it was in close touch with the regulator and with customers. A technical team from the US planemaker is supporting the probe. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said it’s checking if it will need to mandate anything.

Some lawmakers are seeking answers from Whitaker and Boeing on how they will keep travelers flying on similar aircraft safe. 

“America has long held the record of having the safest airspace and flight protocols in the world, Representative Norma Torres of California said in a letter to the FAA administrator. “That said, Boeing’s track record, along with the FAA’s safety oversight in recent years, has raised serious, warranted concerns for the flying public.”

The 737 Max 9 has modular fuselage layouts, allowing for emergency doors to be installed more variably depending on the number of seats. This gives operators greater flexibility with the cabin configuration.

On the Max 9, Boeing includes a cabin exit door aft of the wings, but before the rear exit door. This is activated in dense seating configurations to meet evacuation requirements. The doors are not activated on Alaska Airlines aircraft and are permanently “plugged.”

Alaska Airlines had scheduled more than 5,000 flights with the Boeing 737 Max 9 model in January, according to aviation data provider Cirium. There are 215 Max 9 aircraft in service globally, with 76 on order, including 25 by Alaska Airlines, Cirium said.

The grounding is a major setback for Boeing, which has grappled with manufacturing defects and costly repairs in recent years. Boeing has been forced to fix misaligned drilling holes in the rear section of the 737, and most recently the FAA said it’s monitoring targeted inspections of Boeing 737 MAX airplanes to look for a possible loose bolt in the rudder control system.

The Alaska Airlines aircraft experienced pressurization issues twice on Jan. 4, the Air Current reported, citing two people familiar with the matter. A warning light had prompted Alaska Air to remove the jet from extended-range operations, or ETOPs, the outlet said.

The temporary grounding, which will impact tens of thousands of customers with canceled flights, involves almost 30% of the Alaska Air’s 227 Boeing 737 family aircraft. 

Aeromexico said it aims to complete the inspection of its Max-9 fleet as soon as possible, adding that it will continue to work closely with Boeing and the competent authorities. FlyDubai, which has three Boeing Max 9 aircraft, said it’s aware of the reports and said its planes have a different cabin configuration than the Alaska model.

Inspections are expected to be completed in the next few days, Alaska Air Group Chief Executive Officer Ben Minicucci said.

The jet didn’t appear to have suffered the type of powerful decompression that occurred on a Southwest Airlines Co. plane in 2018 when part of an exploding engine shattered a window of the Boeing 737-700, partly sucking a woman seated next to it from the plane and killing her.

“While this type of occurrence is rare, our flight crew was trained and prepared to safely manage the situation,” the carrier said. Alaska Air operates an all-Boeing fleet.