The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that it will order the grounding of some Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft following a recent incident involving an Alaska Airlines flight. The incident, which occurred at the Portland International Airport in Oregon, saw the aircraft experience a sudden hull breach and decompression.
Alaska Airlines Flight AS 1282 was bound for Ontario, California, but safely returned to Portland with 171 passengers and 6 crew members on board. The flight had climbed to an altitude of 16,300 feet before rapidly descending and returning to the airport. Photos circulating on social media showed a hole on the left-hand side of the aircraft, near the wing, which appeared to be the size and shape of an emergency exit “plug.”
The Boeing 737 MAX 9 is designed to accommodate an extra emergency exit, which is required for models of the aircraft with certain higher density seating configurations. However, airlines that opt for fewer seats can choose to place a “plug” in that location instead. In this incident, it seems that the hole was in the place where the plug would be.
According to a source familiar with the matter, the decompression was described as “explosive,” and a passenger on the flight reported that the force of the incident ripped a child’s shirt off. Photos also showed emergency oxygen masks deployed throughout the cabin. Damage to the seat next to the hole in the bulkhead was also visible in some images, although it is unclear if the seat was occupied at the time of the incident.
The aircraft involved in the incident, with the registration number N704AL, was delivered to Alaska Airlines from Boeing on October 31, 2023. It had only been in revenue service with the airline for a month before the incident occurred. In response, Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci issued an apology to the passengers and announced that the airline would ground its 65 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft for inspections.
By noon on Saturday, inspections on more than a quarter of Alaska’s 737 MAX 9 fleet had been completed, and some of the planes had already returned to service. The airline later confirmed that 18 of its 65 aircraft had undergone the relevant inspection as part of routine heavy maintenance, and were deemed safe. However, the FAA stated that it would temporarily ground some in-service aircraft pending inspections, affecting around 171 aircraft globally.
United Airlines is the only other U.S. carrier that operates the Boeing 737 MAX 9. It is currently unclear whether the same configuration with the “plug” option is available on the larger version of the jet, the 737 MAX 10, which is still in the process of being certified by the FAA.
The FAA’s Emergency Airworthiness Directive requires inspections that will take four to eight hours per plane. It is possible that these inspections can be performed at outstations, speeding up the process. The National Transportation Safety Board has also announced that it is sending investigators to Portland to look into the incident.
Boeing has expressed its support for the FAA’s directive and has stated that it will cooperate with the investigation. The incident is reminiscent of the global grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX type in 2019, which lasted almost two years. The grounding was implemented following two fatal crashes involving the aircraft, which were attributed to a flight control system called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS).
The MCAS system was found to rely on a single “angle-of-attack” sensor, and if this sensor became damaged, it could cause the plane to erroneously pitch down and lose control. Since the grounding, Boeing has faced scrutiny over its safety practices and records. The manufacturer has also dealt with other manufacturing defects in various plane types, including the MAX. These incidents, even minor ones, have drawn significant attention due to the MAX’s tarnished reputation.
In conclusion, the recent incident involving an Alaska Airlines flight has prompted the grounding of some Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft by the FAA. Inspections are being conducted on the affected planes, and Alaska Airlines has already completed inspections on a portion of its fleet. The incident serves as a reminder of the previous global grounding of the MAX type and the ongoing scrutiny faced by Boeing in terms of safety practices and records.