Arrests doubled in connection with the search of a Boeing 737 Max 9 plane, on Sunday, around the world, which led to the cancellation of dozens of flights, after an incident in which a plane belonging to the American company Alaska Airlines lost its door after take-off.
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Like American companies such as United Airlines, which is one of the first companies in the world, Turkish Airlines, Aeromexico, and Panamanian Copa Airlines have grounded their aircraft of this type for inspection, after a directive from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA, FAA).
According to data reported by Boeing to Agence France-Presse, about 218 copies of the 737 MAX 9 have been delivered so far.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday ordered an “immediate inspection of certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft” before a new flight, explaining that approximately 171 aircraft were affected worldwide. The duration of the operation is estimated at between four and eight hours for each aircraft.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), for its part, indicated that it would follow the US recommendations, while adding that this should not have an impact, as no operator in Europe flies the 737 MAX 9 with the respective technology options.
The European agency, whose headquarters are in Cologne (Germany), indicates in a press release that these devices “can continue to operate normally.”
Singapore Airlines (SIA) noted that it had not used a device of the type to be controlled and was therefore “not affected” by the measure.
The accident occurred on Friday, around 6:30 PM (9:30 PM ET) shortly after the Alaska Airlines flight took off from Portland International Airport (northwest Oregon).
According to the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the cabin door was opened and separated from the cabin mid-flight. The plane, which was carrying 171 passengers and 6 crew members, was at an altitude of about 5,000 metres.
Mild injuries
It's a closed, concealed door with a section that only reveals an opening, according to the NTSB, and it's the configuration Boeing offers to customers who order it.
The FAA's guidance also relates to models with a “blocked middle door,” according to the document posted on its website.
After turning around, the plane returned to land in Portland, and the accident caused only a few minor injuries.
The NTSB announced that it had sent a team to Portland to investigate the causes of this malfunction.
United, which has the largest fleet of 737-9 aircraft in the world, announced to Agence France-Presse that it would leave 46 planes on the ground, after 33 of them had already been inspected.
Alaska, which had grounded all 65 of its aircraft of this type even before the Federal Aviation Administration announced last Saturday, explained that it had not found “any element of concern” at this stage.
Copa Airlines suspended the operation of its 21 aircraft of this type for verification, and Turkish Airlines also suspended the operation of the five aircraft it owns.
It was really brutal. One of the passengers on the plane, Kyle Rinker, testified to CNN: “Barely at altitude, the front of the window blew out.”
According to the NTSB, no one sat in the two seats adjacent to the section that flew away.
But according to passengers cited by Portland daily newspaper, The Oregonian, a teenager sitting in that row had his shirt torn due to decompression, causing minor injuries.
“Terrible incident”
“A terrible accident,” US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Channel X.
“We are very, very fortunate that this did not end in a more tragic way,” National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters.
The official revealed, according to preliminary analysis, that the door fell over Cedar Hills, in the inner suburbs of Portland, and called on residents of the area to come forward if they found it.
The accused device was certified in November, according to an FAA registry available online.
Boeing responded in a statement to AFP: “We support its decision (by the FAA, editor's note) to request immediate inspection of 737-9s of the same configuration as the accused aircraft.”
This accident comes after a series of technical problems and two 737 MAX crashes in recent years.
The two crashes, which left 346 people dead in October 2018 and March 2019, grounded the 737 MAX for 20 months and required changes to the in-flight control system.
Recently, Boeing was forced to slow down deliveries due to problems with the fuselage, especially with the plane's rear bulkhead.
At the end of December, Boeing had delivered a total of more than 1,370 copies of the 737 MAX, and its order book reached more than 4,000 units.
