Washington, D.C. – The United States government has announced that airline regulators will not rush to clear grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 planes after a mid-air blowout incident. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg emphasized the need for the planes to be 100% safe before they are allowed to fly again. The timeline for when the planes will be cleared for service remains uncertain at this time.
Boeing’s CEO, Dave Calhoun, referred to the incident as a “quality escape,” suggesting that there was a failure in quality control that led to the blowout. Calhoun expressed the need to determine what went wrong in the inspection and manufacturing process that allowed the incident to occur.
The Alaska Airlines flight, which led to the grounding of the planes, experienced a panel or door plug detachment shortly after takeoff. Fortunately, there were no injuries, and the plane was able to make an emergency landing. As a result of the incident, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded a total of 171 Boeing jets that were equipped with the same door plug.
Alaska Airlines has subsequently canceled approximately 20% of its flights due to the grounding of 65 of its Max 9 planes. United Airlines, the other US operator of the 737 Max 9, has 79 of these planes currently out of service. Both airlines are awaiting revised inspection and maintenance instructions from Boeing before they can resume operations.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing, with the National Transportation Safety Board chair, Jennifer Homendy, stating that it’s possible the bolts securing the panel were missing from the start or came off during descent. The presence of loose parts has been discovered in inspections conducted by both Alaska Airlines and United Airlines.
In the interest of safety, there is no specific timeline for when the suspension of the planes will be lifted. The FAA and the airline operators will only allow the planes to return to service once all findings have been resolved and meet the stringent standards set by both regulatory authorities and the airlines themselves.
In summary, US airline regulators are taking a cautious approach to clearing grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 planes following a mid-air blowout incident. The exact cause of the incident is still under investigation. Alaska Airlines and United Airlines are awaiting further instructions from Boeing and approval from the FAA before they can resume operations with the affected planes.