Boeing’s best-selling 737 MAX aircraft experienced yet another setback last Friday when a cabin panel blew out of an Alaska Airlines plane, compelling the pilots to make an emergency landing at Portland airport in the U.S.
The incident happened in a 737 MAX 9, one of the aircraft’s four variants. Soon after, the operators grounded many of the 737 MAX 9 planes. An inspection ordered just before the accident also led to reports of missing components in two variants.
The U.S. is impacted the most by this incident, as it is the biggest customer of the 737 MAX planes, particularly the 737 MAX 9. Alaska Airlines, which operates from the U.S., grounded all 65 of its Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes. Another U.S. operator, United Airlines, has suspended service on all 78 of its 737 MAX 9 aircraft. Both the carriers reported “loose bolts” on the doors of their MAX 9 planes this week, following the global inspection ordered by Boeing last December.
