FAA grounds 737 Max 9 Aircraft Indefinitely after Alaska Airlines incident

[p--and--t]

Hmmm, I had come to the view that with all the attention and pressure on Boeing after the two initial crashes that they should be now amongst the least riskiest to fly.

I think now I will avoid flying on this type for another 1-2 years.

Bad news for VA fleet renewal and me flying with them

 

[RSVKanga]

Bad news for VA fleet renewal and me flying with them

If there was one thing to thank the Joyce Administration for, it would be them not committing to the 737 MAX family for their long-term workhorse renewal and going in favour of the well-respected and reliable alternative instead.

 

[jb747]

Inactive/ plugged or not.. emergency doors shouldn't be able to blow out while flying, the external pressure is meant to keep them tight.

Only if it's a plug type door. Or a door at all.

I'll bet the person who was in that seat on the previous sector is counting their lucky stars. Cruise was at FL340 for most of the way across the continent.

The image (Alaska Airlines grounds Boeing 737-9 fleet after plane’s window blows out midair) seems to show a bunch of attachment points, with bolts still present.

 

[odysseus]

And now there's this, on a 2 month old jet.

Alaska Airlines to ground fleet of 65 planes after window, chunk of fuselage blow out after take-off

Alaska Airlines said it will ground its fleet of Boeing 737 Max-9 jets after a window and a portion of the plane’s fuselage blew out shortly after take-off in Portland.

www.smh.com.au

 

[KSC]

Clearly the door was not ‘plugged’ as specified. Seems the ‘max’ means maximum issues. I hope this is a once off isolated issue.

Blessed no one was severely injured.

 

[jrfsp]

FAA has grounded all 737-9s

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/06/us/alaska-airlines-window-landing/index.html

 

[Harrison_133]

Alaska has returned 18 MAX-9s to service, after it was determined they "had in-depth and thorough plug door inspections performed as part of a recent heavy maintenance visit."

United also returned 33 MAX-9s to service that have already received the inspections required by the FAA.

Information about Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 and our 737-9 MAX fleet - Alaska Airlines News

Latest updates & information can be found here.

news.alaskaair.com

 

[jakeseven7]

We are lucky in Australia to be able to avoid these aircraft. QF Group and Rex are not touching any MAX variant .

There was also a post a while ago (months) that VA2 will let you move off their MAX flights to another for free - but has anyone on AFF actually tested this??

 

[jakeseven7]

Wow…

US regulator investigates, grounds all Boeing 737-9 Max jetliners​

US officials have ordered the immediate grounding of Boeing 737-9 Max jetliners after an Alaska Airlines plane suffered a blowout that left a gaping hole in the side of the fuselage

Major US airline, United Airlines, said it will also temporarily suspend flights.

Mandatory inspections will affect about 171 airplanes worldwide.

The Max is the newest version of Boeing's 737, a twin-engine, single-aisle plane frequently used on US domestic flights.

Two Max 8 jets crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people and leading to a near two-year worldwide grounding of all Max 8 and Max 9 planes.

Some Boeing 737-9 Max jetliners return to air after Alaska Airlines blowout

The Boeing model is grounded in the US after Alaska Airline pilots were forced to make an emergency landing when a blowout caused a gaping hole in the side of the plane.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Scarlett]

‘Manufacturing issue’ and Boeing are words appearing all too frequently in relation to their new aircraft.

Other relevant modern trends for Boeing would seem to be:
- priority of profit over engineering excellence
- using cheaper and potentially less ‘focussed’ workforce

 

[p--and--t]

Alaska has returned 18 MAX-9s to service, after it was determined they "had in-depth and thorough plug door inspections performed as part of a recent heavy maintenance visit."

United also returned 33 MAX-9s to service that have already received the inspections required by the FAA.

Information about Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 and our 737-9 MAX fleet - Alaska Airlines News

Latest updates & information can be found here.

news.alaskaair.com

Hmmm given this incident a cynic may say their "in depth and thorough inspections" may have been of their coffee cups in the tearoom.

 

[serfty]

If there was one thing to thank the Joyce Administration for, it would be them not committing to the 737 MAX family for their long-term workhorse renewal and going in favour of the well-respected and reliable alternative instead.

Yes - the Aircraft they already had.

Mainly luck - the Joyce administration was averse to purchasing any new airframes.

The only new aircraft to arrive for Qantas in the decade since 2014 were 787's and a recent A220.

 

[KSC]

Wow…

US regulator investigates, grounds all Boeing 737-9 Max jetliners​

US officials have ordered the immediate grounding of Boeing 737-9 Max jetliners after an Alaska Airlines plane suffered a blowout that left a gaping hole in the side of the fuselage

Major US airline, United Airlines, said it will also temporarily suspend flights.

Mandatory inspections will affect about 171 airplanes worldwide.

The Max is the newest version of Boeing's 737, a twin-engine, single-aisle plane frequently used on US domestic flights.

Two Max 8 jets crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people and leading to a near two-year worldwide grounding of all Max 8 and Max 9 planes.

Some Boeing 737-9 Max jetliners return to air after Alaska Airlines blowout

The Boeing model is grounded in the US after Alaska Airline pilots were forced to make an emergency landing when a blowout caused a gaping hole in the side of the plane.

www.abc.net.au

Seems the last ordeal Boeing got out the accountability for what happened with a speeding fine.

I wonder how the current issue will add to the mix.

https://www.npr.org/2023/01/26/1151565489/boeing-criminal-fraud-charge-737-max-crashes

 

[KSC]

Yes - the Aircraft they already had.

Mainly luck - the Joyce administration was averse to purchasing any new airframes.

The only new aircraft to arrive in the last decade were 787's.

I’m sure public perception and actual risk of the 737 Max lemon issue would have played a part on the tendering decision.

If Qantas accepted the 737 max in the fleet and something happened, it’s a direct hit to profits as the public perception of this aircraft is wounded.

With this latest incident the public will be reminded and fear will again rise for good reason.

 

[RSVKanga]

Mainly luck - the Joyce administration was averse to purchasing any new airframes.

The only new aircraft to arrive for Qantas in the last decade were 787's.

Agreed. An average fleet age of 16 years is simply unacceptable. I’d like them to push through on their rumoured plans to acquire additional not-taken-up/ex-Bamboo 787s currently available to make the situation slightly better.

 

[serfty]

737 Max lemon issue would have played a part on the tendering decision

Yes, Qantas went for narrow body Airbus types two years ago, well after MAX issues became apparent.

https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/qantas-selects-airbus-as-preferred-aircraft-for-domestic-fleet-renewal/

My comment was more in relation to that Qantas were not putting in orders for any narrow bodies a decade ago; so of course they were not getting any MAX's.

 

[pauly7]

I smell a sequel or appendix to ‘Downfall’ in the works

 

[RSVKanga]

Yes, Qantas went for narrow body Airbus types two years ago, well after MAX issues became apparent.

https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/qantas-selects-airbus-as-preferred-aircraft-for-domestic-fleet-renewal/

My comment was more in relation to that Qantas were not putting in orders for any narrow bodies a decade ago; so of course they were not getting any MAX's.

The fact that Qantas has ordered A320neo family aircraft for Jetstar in the past doesn’t have much significance. Qantas and the Joyce Administration defended the 737MAX immediately after the ET302 crash and said it’s possible that Qantas will place a MAX order soon to replace its 737NGs. Obviously the airline and the Australian travelling public would be glad that they changed paths sometime during 2020-21.

 

[KSC]

I smell a sequel or appendix to ‘Downfall’ in the works

In the American aviation justice system, safety based incidents are considered especially heinous. In Washington DC, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of a corrupt squad known as the FAA. These are their stories.
Dun Dun..

 

[Brissy1]

Yet another B737 "enhancement" for operator efficiency, give me an older version any day.