CHICAGO – United Airlines has discovered loose bolts on the door plugs of multiple grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 planes. This comes after an incident in which a door plug blew out mid-flight on an Alaska Airlines plane. The airline did not disclose the exact number of planes affected.
United has a total of 79 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes in its fleet. In a statement, the airline said, “Since we began preliminary inspections on Saturday, we have found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug – for example, bolts that needed additional tightening. These findings will be remedied by our Tech Ops team to safely return the aircraft to service.”
The airline is working to return the affected aircraft to service as soon as possible, but it anticipates “significant cancellations” on Tuesday. Already, 200 MAX 9 flights have been canceled following the mid-air incident on an Alaska Airlines plane that necessitated an emergency landing.
Boeing, the manufacturer of the aircraft, said it is cooperating with the operators during the required inspections. In a statement, the company stated, “We are committed to ensuring every Boeing airplane meets design specifications and the highest safety and quality standards. We regret the impact this has had on our customers and their passengers.”
As a result of the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has grounded all Boeing 737 Max 9 planes involved until further notice. The agency will only allow the planes to resume operation once it is “satisfied that they are safe,” according to an FAA spokesperson.
Alaska Airlines and United Airlines are the only two U.S. passenger carriers that utilize the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft. These two airlines operate almost two-thirds of the 215 Max 9 planes in service worldwide, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
In conclusion, United Airlines has found loose bolts on the door plugs of its Boeing 737 Max 9 planes. The airline is working on resolving the issue to safely return the affected planes to service. The incident has resulted in substantial flight cancellations, with the FAA grounding all Max 9 planes until further notice. Alaska Airlines and United Airlines are the primary operators of Max 9 planes globally.