US regulators grounded Boeing 737s and halted flights till January 16th

Saturday, January 13, 2024

On January 12, the US FAA made the decision to extend the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft’s indefinite grounding. The decision was made in reaction to a recent incident in which a cabin panel on a new jet broke off during a flight. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced plans to increase inspection requirements and strengthen oversight over Boeing in response, with the ultimate decision being made on whether to allow the aircraft to return to service.

United Airlines and Alaska Airlines had already canceled flights as a result of the grounding as of January 16. In order to determine whether it is safe for the Max 9s to resume flying, the FAA declared that it would conduct another inspection of 40 of the affected aircraft.

FAA audits of the Boeing 737 Max 9 production line and its suppliers will take place in light of these developments. Furthermore, a third party’s partial takeover of the Boeing-managed safety certification process for new aircraft is being considered.

In order to protect passenger safety, the FAA emphasized that 171 aircraft with the same configuration as the incident are still grounded. The agency initially grounded the aircraft on January 8 and stated that they would not be allowed to take off again until they had undergone thorough inspections.

The two US carriers affected by the grounding, Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, have cancelled multiple flights, causing inconvenience to passengers. Boeing’s stock has declined as well, falling 2.2% on January 12 and nearly 12% since the January 5 incident.

An incident occurred on a recent flight from Portland, Oregon, on an Alaska Airlines Max 9, which had only been in service for eight weeks. The aircraft was 16,000 feet in the air when the panel broke off. With only minor injuries among the passengers reported, the pilots safely returned the aircraft to Portland despite the incident.

Following the incident, an official investigation into the Max 9 was launched by the FAA. FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker highlighted Boeing’s history of manufacturing problems and expressed concerns about the plane’s malfunctions. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is also investigating the possibility that some or all of the bolts on the aircraft involved in the Alaska Airlines incident were not tightened correctly or were missing altogether.

In a January 12 interview with Reuters, Whitaker attributed the Max 9 issues to manufacturing issues rather than design faults. 

« Back to Page