After a near disaster
First Boeing 737-9 Max takes off again
January 27, 2024, 6:04 a.m
After a Boeing 737 MAX 9 had to make an emergency landing due to a lost part of the cabin wall, the models were taken out of service for weeks. The US airline Alaska Airlines is the first to resume operations. A top manager of the company is also on board the machine.
Three weeks after a near-miss with a Boeing 737-9 Max, aircraft of the type are again carrying passengers in the USA. Alaska Airlines – the airline whose 737-9 Max lost a fuselage part in flight – deployed an inspected aircraft between Seattle and San Diego on Friday (local time).
Top manager Constance von Muehlen, who is responsible for operational business, was also on board. She told US broadcaster CBS that she didn’t want to ask passengers to do anything that she wouldn’t do herself. Alaska said it was prepared to rebook customers who did not want to board a plane of this type on other aircraft.
On January 5th, shortly after takeoff, a part of the fuselage broke off during climb on a virtually new 737-9 Max from Alaska with more than 170 people on board. Instead, some configurations of the more seat type have a door. The affected variant of the 737-9 Max instead has a cover that closes the opening. No one was seriously injured in the incident – however, by a lucky coincidence, the two seats directly at the opening remained empty.
After the incident, the FAA and other authorities ordered all approximately 170 similar aircraft of the type to be grounded for investigations. Alaska and United Airlines also found loose fasteners in the area on other planes. A few days ago, the FAA released the procedure for inspections after which the aircraft can take off again. The checks take up to twelve hours per machine.
Alaska Airlines added two more 737-9 Max to its flight schedule on Friday and plans to inspect all of its 65 aircraft of the type by the end of January. The fasteners should then be inspected every two years. United also wanted to send the first of its planes back into the air this weekend.