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Home » News » FAA Orders Grounding Of 737 MAX 9 Aircraft
BoeingNews

FAA Orders Grounding Of 737 MAX 9 Aircraft

Matthew Klint Posted onJanuary 6, 2024January 6, 2024 13 Comments

a plane flying in the sky

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered the grounding of select Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft to conduct safety inspections.

FAA Order: Ground 737 MAX 9 Aircraft For Inspections

The aircraft type was involved in a freak incident over Portland, Oregon last night. A “plugged” rear mid-cabin emergency exit door on an Alaska Airlines 737-9 MAX (essentially, part of the fuselage) separated from the aircraft minutes after takeoff, triggering a rapid decompression event. An emergency was declared and the aircraft returned to Portland. No injuries were reported.

The FAA order applies to all US carriers as well as foreign carriers operating in US territory. It impacts 171 jets. Inspections will take between 4-8 hours per aircraft to complete.

The FAA is requiring immediate inspections of certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes before they can return to flight.

Safety will continue to drive our decision-making as we assist the @NTSB’s investigation into Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. – @FAA_Mike pic.twitter.com/YsuQimg2pq

— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) January 6, 2024

It was earlier reported that United Airlines would voluntarily ground its fleet of over 80 737 MAX 9 aircraft, but that move is now mandatory. United Airlines told Live And Let’s Fly:

United has temporarily suspended service on select Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft to conduct an inspection required by the FAA. We are working directly with impacted customers to find them alternative travel options.

United has 79 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft and 33 of those have already received the necessary inspection now is required by the FAA. About 60 cancellations today are expected due to this move.


> Read More: Alaska Airlines 737-9 MAX Exit Door Separates From Aircraft After Takeoff, Forcing Emergency Landing
> Read More: Alaska Airlines Grounds Entire Boeing 737-9 MAX Fleet


image: Boeing

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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13 Comments

  1. Dave Edwards Reply
    January 6, 2024 at 1:39 pm

    Talk about a travel nightmare. This plane is cursed.

    • derek Reply
      January 6, 2024 at 1:53 pm

      Not true. It does not apply to the 737 MAX 8 but should apply (but doesn’t) to the 737-900ER which has the same plugged door exit. Delta is among many airlines that plug it in a quest to make more money.

      • Taylor Reply
        January 6, 2024 at 3:18 pm

        The “[x airline] plugs the door to make more money” trope isn’t true. Having the door plugged actually *decreases* the number of pax the aircraft can carry — full exit functionality is made active in higher-density configurations in order to comply with evacuation requirements.

  2. D.A. Reply
    January 6, 2024 at 2:10 pm

    This plane type needs to be permanently grounded (my aeronautical engineering opinion). Airlines moved on from other poorly designed planes (e.g. the Comet or the Electra) after their accident histories, time for them to move on from this one.

    • ALohafromKOA Reply
      January 6, 2024 at 11:30 pm

      Agreed.

      It only takes one catastrophic incident to lead flyers to look for other aircraft choices.

      United Airlines, I hope you’re listening.

  3. Rey L Reply
    January 6, 2024 at 2:31 pm

    I applaud the swift response by the authorities and airlines for the grounding. Last week I was on a United 737 Max 9 and seated in a window seat about 2 rows behind this fuselage accident. All the more reason to keep your seatbelts secure fastened at all times.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      January 6, 2024 at 2:32 pm

      Indeed.

  4. Jan Reply
    January 6, 2024 at 2:34 pm

    Boeing just can’t get a break with this one

  5. john Reply
    January 6, 2024 at 3:31 pm

    Billable hours intensifies.

    Btw, the plugs are made by Spirit Aero.

  6. T- Reply
    January 6, 2024 at 7:51 pm

    If this terribly frightening incident is indeed Boeing’s fault, I’d definitely be nervous when flying any Max aircraft. This is potentially the end of any good will or redemption for Boeing/Max may have earned back. It’s possibly over for the 737 series. If this is Boeings fault.

  7. Aztec Reply
    January 7, 2024 at 1:56 am

    This apparently happened at 16,000 ft which means that all passengers were belted in. Imagine if this happened at cruising altitude when people tend to unbuckle their seat belts, go to the washroom, open their laptop to do some work, etc. Depressurization at that altitude would most likely have been severely catastrophic. Meanwhile, they think a 4 hour maintenance check is sufficient to ensure this doesn’t happen again? Considering how quickly they came up with this estimate I don’t think it would be outlandish to think they (Boeing) have a pretty good idea what to look for, what triggered this event. Is this not negligence that they didn’t do anything proactively about it?

  8. Aaron Reply
    January 7, 2024 at 2:56 am

    Saw this meme about Boeing replacing their engineers in the leadership hierarchy with non-technical management to focus on boosting shareholder returns instead of building a safe, quality product. But then, you could say that about so many companies (hello US airlines!), because, yay capitalism?

  9. Exit Row Seat Reply
    January 7, 2024 at 8:52 am

    The only good news in this calamity is no one was lost!!
    Image if at 30k feet, full load, and PAX with unbuckled seat belts milling around. At that altitude, the vacuum rush would have been so strong, passengers would have been lost.

    Now is the time to focus on the missing panel. It’s the missing piece in the puzzle. In a statement last night, the NTSB has a general idea of when and where the panel was lost. Need to cooperate with the local sheriff, police, and citizens. Maybe a farmer, property owner, hiker, or hunter will come across the panel.

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