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What Fliers Need to Know About the Grounding of Some 737 MAX Flights

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Published: Monday, 29 January 2024 16:41

Travelers with upcoming flights on Alaska, United may be affected after Alaska flight was forced to make emergency landing

Alaska Air and United said they grounded all of their MAX 9 jets as they awaited details about possible additional work that may be required to comply with the FAA’s order.  Travelers on Tuesday faced flight cancellations by United and Alaska airlines, one of several ripple effects from the weekend grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 9.

The problem is now compounded by a series of severe storms across the U.S. United Airlines canceled more than 190 flights, or 7% of flights, as of Tuesday morning, according to flight tracker FlightAware. Alaska Airlines canceled about 17% of its flights as of Tuesday morning.

The fallout stems from a Friday incident on an Alaska flight from Portland, Ore., to Ontario, Calif. An emergency exit-sized door plug blew out at around 16,000 feet.

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Boeing Is Back in the Spotlight—This Time Over a MAX 9

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Published: Monday, 22 January 2024 16:36

After latest incident, Boeing executives race to reassure airlines as FAA grounds 171 MAX 9 jets

A 737 MAX at Boeing’s factory in Renton, Wash. The line of jets has encountered past troubles. The last thing Boeing needed was more trouble with its 737 MAX jet. That is exactly what it got to start the new year.

The company had just started to regain its footing after years of tumult around the popular but troubled line of narrow-body jets when a MAX 9 operated by Alaska Airlines had a structural failure Friday night.

A panel that plugs an emergency door ripped away at 16,000 feet leaving a gaping hole in a cabin full of passengers. The Federal Aviation Administration responded Saturday by ordering airlines to ground about 171 of the MAX 9 planes and to conduct inspections. The checks take about four hours and, if cleared, planes can return to service.

Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said Saturday that its investigation is focused on the Alaska Airlines incident and isn’t looking more broadly at Boeing’s 737 MAX.

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Investigators Probing if Alaska Airlines Door Plug Was Properly Bolted

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Published: Monday, 15 January 2024 16:32

A door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines jet midair after moving off a set of stops designed to keep it attached to the plane, investigators said on Monday. United Airlines said it also discovered loose parts on its Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets.

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Japan Airport Collision Probe Asks: Why Was Coast Guard Plane on the Runway?

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Published: Tuesday, 09 January 2024 16:30

Aircraft was told to go to a holding point two minutes before a Japan Airlines jet collided with it. All 379 people on board a Japan Airlines jet that burst into flames after a collision at a Tokyo airport managed to escape relatively unscathed. Experts explain how air safety advances and the plane’s design helped to ensure their survival.

Japanese authorities investigating a fiery collision at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport are zeroing in on why a coast guard plane was present on the same runway where a Japan Airlines jet had permission to land.

Just moments before Tuesday’s collision, the coast guard plane inched forward onto the runway, but regulators said they haven’t found any record of it being cleared to do so. Its movements placed it in the path of the descending Japan Airlines Flight 516.

The two planes collided on the runway, and the smaller coast guard aircraft exploded, killing five of the six personnel aboard. The Japan Airlines Airbus A350 caught fire and its 379 passengers and crew escaped with just minutes to spare.

A transcript of control-tower communications released by Japanese regulators shows the Japan Coast Guard plane, a De Havilland Canada Dash 8 turboprop, was instructed at 5:45 p.m. to taxi to a holding point called C5 right next to the runway.

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