United pulls some 737 from service for checks amid Alaska mishap

United Airlines Holdings Inc. has temporarily pulled a handful of the Boeing Co. 737 Max 9 variant from service to conduct emergency inspections following an incident on Jan. 5 during which a fuselage section broke loose during flight on the same model operated by Alaska Airlines.

The US carrier, the biggest customer for that particular Boeing model, removed five recently-built jets from service at the direction of Boeing, according to a person familiar with the decision, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. 

The airline, which has 78 737 Max 9 in operation, declined to comment, and a Boeing spokesman deferred to United for comment. The move hasn’t resulted in any additional cancellations for the Chicago-based airline, which is also dealing with a winter storm in the Northeastern US.

The Boeing aircraft flying for Alaska Airlines lost an auxiliary emergency door shortly after taking off from Portland, Oregon, on Friday night. The jet returned to the airport and nobody was seriously injured. Alaska Airlines has since voluntarily grounded its fleet of 65 Max 9, and regulators in the the US, Europe and China are considering their formal response to the incident.

“United would be smart to ground theirs as well until they get to the bottom of this and everybody has the chance to inspect their planes,” said Richard Healing, a former NTSB member who is chief executive of of Air Safety Engineering.