(Reuters) – Alaska Airlines grounded dozens of Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets to carry out safety checks after a cabin panel of a brand new plane exploded and it made an emergency landing.
The airline’s general manager, Ben Minicucci, said in a statement that the 65 planes in the same range will be returned to service after inspections, which will be done in the “coming days”.
An Alaska Airlines plane bound for California took off Friday from Portland, Oregon with 177 passengers and six crew members on board, and soon after had to make an emergency landing in Portland.
Photos posted by passengers on social media show that a panel at the rear of the plane was torn off, revealing a door-shaped space.
Other photos show oxygen masks falling from the plane’s ceiling.
“While this type of event is rare, our crew was trained and prepared to handle the situation safely,” Alaska Airlines said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was investigating the depressurization incident. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the crew reported a pressurization problem and would investigate.
The new MAX 9 was delivered to Alaska Airlines in late October and certified in early November, according to FAA data.
“We are aware of the incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight 1282,” Boeing said in a statement. “We are working to gather more information and are in contact with our customer.”
The 737 MAX was grounded for 20 months around the world after two fatal accidents in 2018 and 2019 linked to a cockpit software problem.
Boeing is awaiting certification of its smaller 737 MAX 7 and the larger MAX 10.
The fuselage of the Boeing 737 aircraft, its most popular model, is manufactured by Spirit AeroSystems, based in Kansas. . In August, Boeing identified a technical quality issue involving Spirit.
Spirit was not immediately available for comment on the incident in Alaska.
(Reporting by David Shepardson, Valerie Insinna and Tim Hephern with contributions from Akanksha Khushi; French version Elizabeth Pineau)
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