DALLAS — United Airlines (UA) has suspended Boeing 737-9 service to perform inspections ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This decision comes after a panel and deactivated emergency exit door blew out of an Alaska Airlines (AS) flight.

United has confirmed to Airways that it has temporarily “suspended service on select Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft to conduct an inspection required by the FAA,” adding that it was working directly with impacted customers to find them alternative travel options.

United has 79 Boeing 737-9 aircraft, including about 33 that have already received the necessary inspection that is required by the FAA.  The airline also states that removing certain Boeing 737-9 aircraft from service will cause "about 60 cancellations today.”

The FAA issued a statement this morning ordering the grounding of certain Boeing 737-9s, requiring immediate inspections of the variant before they can return to flight. The necessary inspections will require approximately four to eight hours per aircraft and will impact approximately 171 airplanes globally.

https://twitter.com/FAANews/status/1743692471559651513?s=20

Alaska Airlines has already announced that it will ground its Boeing 737-9 fleet following the incident on Friday to perform maintenance checks on the variant. Other operators of the Boeing 737-9 include Aeromexico (AM), Air Tanzania (TC), COPA Airlines (CM), GOL (G3), Icelandair (FI), flydubai (FZ), and Turkish Airlines (TK).

According to TK Senior Vice President Media Yahya ÜSTÜN, five Boeing 737-9 aircraft in the TK fleet are to be inspected as a precaution. We expect more airlines to follow suit after the FAA order.

Boeing's MAX Woes

It was fortunate that no serious injuries were reported on AS Flight 1282 and that the plane safely returned to Portland International Airport (PDX) after experiencing a pressurization issue and hull breach. However, the question on everyone's minds is whether the break-off of a deactivated exit door on a brand-new aircraft can be prevented with maintenance checks.

The Boeing 737-9's detached emergency door incident comes after Boeing sent out a Multi-Operator Message (MOM) to airlines operating the 737 MAX aircraft at the end of December 2023, asking them to inspect the rudders of these planes for a possible loose bolt.

That same month, Boeing had asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to exempt the still-uncertified 737-7 from safety rules to get it in the air.

While Lion Air (JT) took the first Boeing 737-9 delivery, UA was the first airline to operate the variant in the US. According to Cirium Diio data, there are 215 Boeing 737-9 aircraft in service globally (meaning they have flown in the past 30 days), one in storage, and 76 on order.

On Sunday night, UA updated its flight cancellation information from this event as follows: Saturday: 273 flights scheduled, 90 flights canceled, and nearly 60 flights saved by switching to other aircraft. Sunday: 265 flights scheduled, about 180 canceled, and 85 flights saved by switching to other aircraft types.

This is a developing story.

Featured image: United Airlines N27519 BOEING 737-9 MAX KBFI BFI. Photo: Brandon Farris/Airways

https://airwaysmag.com/alaska-boeing-737-max-blows-out-door/