On Monday, United Airlines said loose bolts and other “installation issues” were discovered on the door plugs of some of its fleet of Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplanes.
“Since we began preliminary inspections on Saturday, we have found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug – for example, bolts that needed additional tightening,” United said.
The mandated inspections come after the Federal Aviation Administration forced the grounding of Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplanes. Alaska Airlines and United are the only two U.S. airlines that use that particular model of the Boeing 737.
“Boeing 737-9 aircraft will remain grounded until operators complete enhanced inspections, which include both left and right cabin door exit plugs, door components, and fasteners,” the FAA said in a statement on Monday, adding that any issues found from the inspections must be corrected before the planes can go back into service.
The pause, which resulted in the cancellation of hundreds of flights, affected about 171 planes globally, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
On Friday, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 had to make an emergency landing shortly after takeoff after a door plug blew out, leaving a large hole in the side of the plane as it climbed. The door plug has since been recovered and the National Transportation Safety Board launched an investigation over the weekend into what it called “an accident.”
Boeing’s shares tumbled as much as 9% as trading opened on Monday morning, the first business day since the incident.
No serious injuries
Incredibly, none of the 171 passengers and six crew members on board the flight from Portland, Ore., to Ontario, Calif., was injured.
The plane was climbing at about 16,000 feet when a panel on the plane’s fuselage was blown out.
No one was seated in 26A and 26B, where the door plug was located.
“We are very, very fortunate here that this didn’t end up in something more tragic.” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said over the weekend.
The airplane had not reached cruising altitude and the seat belt sign remained on to discourage passengers and crew members from walking around the cabin.
“Just from talking with everyone who was part of the interviews, it was described as chaos, very loud, between the air and everything going on around them,” Homendy said at a Sunday news conference. “And it was very violent when the rapid decompression and the door [plug] was expelled out of the plane.”
Some passengers were treated for minor injuries on board.