(Boursier.com) — The sky is darkening again for Boeing and its 737 MAX. If, by some miracle, the incident that occurred on Friday on an Alaska Airlines B.737 Max 9 departing from Portland did not cause any injuries, the event will not be without consequences for the American giant. In addition to the new blow in terms of image for Boeing’s best-seller after previous quality and compliance problems encountered by the aircraft, the plane is now grounded in the United States.
The American Federal Aviation Administration has in fact ordered the temporary immobilization of the 171 B.737 MAX 9s in service for inspection, after the Alaska plane lost an important fuselage part, leaving a hole rectangular in the cabin and forcing the crew to make an emergency landing. “We have grounded the affected aircraft, and they will remain grounded until the FAA is satisfied that they are safe,” the regulator said on Sunday.
For Dave Calhoun, CEO of Boeing, this episode is a new blow, occurring just a few days after the start of a new year that he had described as crucial for the company’s recovery. Boeing is still feeling the impact of two fatal 737 Max crashes nearly five years ago, which shook confidence in the company. The executive canceled Boeing’s annual senior executive retreat, which was scheduled to begin Monday outside San Diego. And he summoned all employees to a meeting which will be broadcast Tuesday from the Boeing factory which produces the 737, to discuss the incident and reinforce Boeing’s commitment to safety, quality, integrity. and transparency.
Although Boeing has made progress in recent years, “situations like this remind us that we must remain focused on continuing to improve every day,” Calhoun told employees in a message sent to the entire company. group and taken over by ‘Bloomberg’. In a brief statement, Boeing said Saturday: “Safety is our top priority and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers. We agree and fully support the FAA’s decision to “require immediate inspections of 737-9 aircraft with the same configuration as the affected aircraft. Additionally, a Boeing technical team is supporting the NTSB investigation into last night’s event. We will remain in close contact with our regulator and our customers.
“I hope they get to the bottom of it quickly and see if this is really an isolated case,” Richard Healing, a former member of the board of directors of the National Transportation Safety Board, told the agency. who today runs the consultancy company Air Safety Engineering. “If it was just this plane, there might have been poor workmanship when they locked that door. I would look at everything you can imagine.” The new MAX 9 in question was delivered to Alaska Airlines at the end of October and certified at the beginning of November, according to FAA data.
©2024 Boursier.com