A United Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft lands at San Francisco International Airport in California on March 13, 2019.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
United Airlines said Monday that it has found loose bolts on door plugs of several Boeing 737 Max 9 planes during inspections spurred when a panel of that type blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight using that style of aircraft last week.
Alaska Airlines later Monday said its initial inspections of the jets had turned up “loose hardware” and that, “No aircraft shall be returned to service” until formal reviews are complete.
“The protection of those aircraft is our priority and we are going to take the time and steps mandatory to make sure their airworthiness, in close partnership with the FAA,” Alaska Airlines said in a press release.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday grounded dozens of 737 Max 9s after the panel blew out midflight on Alaska Flight 1282.
Alaska has 65 of the Max 9 planes in its fleet. United has 79, making it the most important operator of the jet model.
“Since we began preliminary inspections on Saturday, we’ve got found instances that appear to relate to installation issues within the door plug — for instance, bolts that needed additional tightening,” United said in a press release. “These findings shall be remedied by our Tech Ops team to soundly return the aircraft to service.”
The FAA earlier Monday declined to comment on the airline’s findings.
Plane manufacturer Boeing said earlier Monday it issued instructions to airlines to conduct the inspections of the Max 9s of their fleets. United had begun some preliminary inspection work previously few days.
“We’re committed to making sure every Boeing airplane meets design specifications and the very best safety and quality standards,” Boeing said in a press release Monday evening. “We regret the impact this has had on our customers and their passengers.”
Nobody was seriously injured within the accident aboard the Alaska Airlines flight, though the blown-out panel produced a force so violent that some headrests and seatbacks were ripped from the cabin and the cockpit door was flung open, in accordance with initial details of a federal safety investigation. No passengers were seated within the two seats next to the panel.
The National Transportation Safety Board said the accident would have been worse at cruising altitude when passengers and crews are walking across the cabin.
However the accident places fresh scrutiny on Boeing, which has spent years trying to wash up a bunch of quality defects, while also ramping up aircraft production, including of the 737 Max. CEO Dave Calhoun has spent months attempting to assure airlines, investors and financial analysts that the corporate is improving its supply chain and dealing to resolve its quality problems.
Calhoun canceled an organization leadership summit this week and plans to carry an all-employee call on Tuesday.
The 737 Max is Boeing’s best-selling aircraft, with greater than 4,000 orders to fill. Nonetheless, the more common Max 8, which will not be affected by the grounding, makes up the vast majority of those orders.
Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO:
