A Boeing 737 Max plane from Alaska Airlines had to land quickly at Portland International Airport because a window and part of the plane's body blew out right after it took off. After this happened, Alaska Airlines stopped all its Boeing 737-9 planes from flying for a while.
Flight 1282 was flying from Portland to Ontario, California, with 171 passengers and six crew members on board, as mentioned by Alaska Airlines. Passengers on the flight described feeling a sudden rush of air and experiencing minor injuries. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries or deaths reported from the incident.
According to FlightRadar24, the plane flew for around 20 minutes and went as high as 16,300 feet before the incident happened. This particular aircraft was a new Boeing 737 Max 9 that Alaska Airlines got in October.
The 737 Max 9 airplane has a flexible design for emergency doors, allowing airlines like Alaska Airlines to adjust where doors are placed based on how they arrange the seats inside the plane. In Alaska Airlines' case, they permanently seal off or "plug" some doors, which is different from how other airlines configure their planes, according to a Bloomberg report.
Boeing, the company that makes the 737 Max planes, has faced challenges in manufacturing lately. They've had problems with things like drilling holes and checking the rudder control system on their planes. The 737 Max planes were stopped from flying all around the world after two crashes involving the MAX 8 model in 2018 and 2019, which resulted in the deaths of 346 people.
This latest incident adds to Boeing's efforts to make people trust and feel confident in the 737 Max planes again. These planes are really important for Boeing because they bring in a lot of money for the company.
Here are the Top 10 Updates:
- The boss of Alaska Airlines said they're playing it safe by stopping all 65 of their Boeing 737-9 planes from flying for now. They want to make sure each plane is completely checked and fixed if needed. He thinks this will take a few days, and after that, the planes will be good to go back into service.
- Boeing mentioned they're aware of what happened with Alaska Airlines Flight AS1282. They're trying to gather more details and are talking with the airline. Boeing has a team of experts ready to help with the investigation.
- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has given an order to temporarily stop and check specific Boeing Co. 737 Max 9 planes after the incident involving Alaska Airlines. Around 171 planes worldwide will be affected by this decision. FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said they're focused on safety and will support the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in looking into what happened on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282.
- Alaska Airlines, which has the second-largest number of these planes worldwide, had already stopped using its Max 9 planes after the incident. United Airlines, which has the most of these planes, also took some of them out of service to check them following the FAA's instructions.
- Both Alaska and United Airlines shared updates about their progress in checking their planes. United has 79 Boeing 737-9 Max planes, and they've inspected 33 of them as required by the FAA. They mentioned canceling 60 flights on Saturday because of this. Alaska Airlines said they've checked more than a quarter of their 737-9 planes and that 18 planes similar to the one involved in the incident returned without any problems after inspection.
- After what happened with Alaska Airlines, India's aviation authority (DGCA) told all Indian airlines to quickly check the emergency exits on their Boeing 737-8 Max planes that they're using.
- FlyDubai mentioned their Max 9 planes have a different setup inside compared to the Alaska Airlines model. Aeromexico decided to stop using all its 737 MAX 9 planes for now while they do inspections. Icelandair said their 737 MAX 9 planes don't have the same setup that the FAA mentioned in its order to stop flights.
- China's aviation group had an urgent meeting to talk about what to do next, like possibly stopping all Boeing Max planes from flying in China. This is important because China was the first country to stop the 737 Max from flying after the serious accidents in recent years.
- Boeing said they back up the FAA's choice and mentioned they work closely with regulators and airlines. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is looking into what happened. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is checking if more rules are needed.
- Stopping flights temporarily causes big problems, affecting lots of travelers with canceled flights. The FAA said around 171 planes worldwide might be impacted, and each check can take from four to eight hours.
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