Summary
- The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded greater than 170 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft worldwide resulting from safety concerns.
- Alaska Airlines and United Airlines have quickly grounded their 737 MAX 9 fleets and are conducting inspections.
- Boeing is cooperating with regulators and investigating the incident, prioritizing safety as its top concern.
171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft around the globe have been grounded resulting from an order by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Saturday, following the shocking incident that unfolded on an Alaska Airlines flight Friday evening.
In response to AS1282, the FAA released an announcement on Saturday, ordering the temporary grounding of the aircraft:
Photo: Joe Kunzler | Easy Flying
“The FAA is requiring immediate inspections of certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes before they will return to flight,”
US carriers quick to ground
Alaska quickly reacted after the incident, issuing a company-wide grounding of the variant for further inspection. Affecting 69 aircraft, the oneworld airline is now working with Boeing and regulators to grasp what occurred onboard AS1282 and can share updates as more information becomes available. Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci noted:
“Following tonight’s event on Flight 1282, we’ve decided to take the precautionary step of temporarily grounding our fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft. Each aircraft can be returned to service only after full maintenance and safety inspections are accomplished. We anticipate all inspections can be accomplished in the following few days.”
Photo: Alaska Airlines
United Airlines followed suit on Saturday following the FAA ruling, grounding a few of its MAX 9s. The move reportedly affects around 60 flights nationwide. Southwest Airlines, the world’s largest 737 operator, doesn’t operate the -9 variant, but commented on its current and future fleet in an announcement obtained by National Public Radio (NPR):
“The MAX -8 aircraft in our existing fleet and the -7 in our future fleet would not have the exit door plug involved within the Friday evening event. Our fleet and operation are unaffected,”
Boeing’s response
Following the incident at Alaska and the FAA’s subsequent grounding of the variant, the aircraft manufacturer’s spokesperson, Jessica Kowal, released this statement:
“Safety is our top priority and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers. As well as, a Boeing technical team is supporting the NTSB’s investigation into last night’s event. We are going to remain in close contact with our regulator and customers.”
Photo: Joe Kunzler | Easy Flying
The aircraft at the middle of the drama, N704AL, had been in operation for lower than three months and was only delivered to the carrier on October 31 last yr. Planespotters.net reported that the aircraft then entered service on November 11, 2023.
As reported by Easy Flying last month, the biggest operators of the 737 MAX 9 as of December 2023 include:
- United Airlines (79)
- Alaska Airlines (63) – Exclusive operator of the variant
- Aeromexico (18)
- Turkish Airlines (five)
- flydubai (three)