According to a report by Consumer News and Business Channel on January 6th, the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States has ordered airlines to ground more than 170 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, following a damage to the side of the cabin of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft during flight. This emergency airworthiness directive will affect approximately 171 related aircraft models worldwide.
Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft
The European Aviation Safety Agency has adopted the US directive on Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft
According to Reuters on January 7th local time, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has adopted instructions from the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States regarding the Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft.
The European Aviation Safety Agency also pointed out that currently there are no airlines from EU member states operating aircraft with affected configurations.
Previously reported
On January 6th, Alaska Airlines announced on social media platform X that it has decided to take preventive measures and temporarily suspend 65 of its Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft.
Previously, according to multiple American media outlets including the Associated Press, an Alaska Airlines plane made an emergency landing in Oregon on the same day. There are reports that a window and part of the fuselage of the plane exploded in mid air. After the plane landed, photos of the scene exposed by passengers showed that part of the fuselage was damaged and a large part was missing, and a window at the exit position was lost. It is currently unclear whether anyone was injured. According to records from the Federal Aviation Administration, this is a Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, according to the Associated Press.
Boeing apologized in a statement on social media platform X on the 6th local time. Boeing stated in a statement that, "Safety is our top priority, and we deeply apologize for the impact this incident has had on our customers and their passengers. We agree and fully support the Federal Aviation Administration's decision to immediately inspect the same type of aircraft. In addition, a technical team from Boeing will support the National Transportation Safety Commission's investigation into last night's incident. We will maintain close contact with regulatory agencies and customers."
