Blowout on Alaska Airlines plane forces grounding of some Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners

• Some Boeing 737 Max 9 planes are grounded.
• This comes after a panel flew off mid-flight.
• Luckily no one aboard the Alaska Airlines flight was hurt.

Federal officials ordered the immediate grounding of some Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft after a blowout aboard an Alaska Airlines flight.

The aircraft experienced a failure shortly after takeoff in Oregon, that created a huge hole and forced an emergency landing.

Affecting 171 aircraft globally, inspections will take between four and eight hours per aircraft, according to The Associated Press.

It was reported that more than 100 people were on board the aircraft that was affected on the night of Friday, January 5.

Blowout on Alaska Airlines plane

An Alaska Airlines flight, carrying 174 passengers and six crew members, lost a window and part of the fuselage shortly after takeoff.

Despite this, the plane landed safely, but the airline decided to ground its 65 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes for inspection.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced an investigation into the matter to discover what caused the plane to fail.

Evan Smith, a passenger on the flight, described the incident, saying that a window blew out in the row where a child and his mother were sitting.

Boeing 737 Max 9 planes are grounded

According to The Associated Press, Smith said that the boy’s shirt was sucked off of him and out of the plane after the window blew out.

He also stated that everyone’s oxygen masks dropped and people immediately put them on.

Ben Minicucci, CEO of Alaska Airlines, estimated that it will take days to inspect the aircraft fleet, which represents a fifth of its total aircraft.

The company is cooperating with Boeing and regulators to clarify what happened, expressing its regret for the impact on the passengers aboard the affected flight.

This is not the first time Boeing has had issues

Alaska Airlines flight 1282 was headed to California, but the blowout occurred a few minutes after takeoff, at 16,000 feet.

The pilots, remaining calm, requested clearance to descend to 10,000 feet to ensure safe air pressure.

Videos shared by passengers showed the hole in the plane and the passengers’ reaction, according to The Associated Press.

The Boeing 737 Max 9 has faced previous problems, with two previous crashes that killed 346 people and a global grounding of these planes for about two years.

New concerns over safety

Confidence in this series of aircraft was shaken, requiring changes to some systems before they were put back into service.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued prior warnings, such as limiting certain systems in specific conditions due to potential overheating risks.

Past incidents have raised concerns and pauses in deliveries of these aircraft to correct manufacturing flaws.

The recent event with the Alaska Airlines plane has raised new safety concerns.

Safety in the aviation industry

Debates about the safety and reliability of the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft have reignited after the terrifying incident last Friday.

It is an urgent wake-up call, triggering an immediate response that prioritizes caution and a thorough inspection of these aircraft.

The sudden grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 9 fleet not only reflects the severity of the incident, but also demonstrates a firm commitment to aviation safety.

This preventive action underscores the need to maintain the highest standards of quality and maintenance in the industry, especially when it comes to the safety of passengers and crew. To see a video of the Alaska Airlines flight click HERE.