FAA grounds Boeing 737 Max 9 planes after Alaska Airlines incident

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes for safety inspections following an incident where a cabin panel detached from an Alaska Airlines flight on Friday. The flight, carrying 171 passengers and six crew members, was en route from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, when a piece of fuselage ripped off the plane's left side, causing a rapid decompression.

The pilots managed to turn back and land safely at Portland International Airport, with no serious injuries reported. The FAA said the grounding will affect about 171 of the 218 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes operating worldwide, including those in US territory. As per , the FAA said the decision was based on "a report of an in flight departure of a mid cabin door plug, which resulted in a rapid airplane decompression," referring to the Alaska Airlines incident.

The agency said it was issuing the directive because of the potential risk of similar events in other planes of the same model, which could lead to "injury to passengers and crew, the door impacting the airplane, and loss of control of the airplane." Alaska Air flight lost a window mid flight.

Flight made an emergency landing. The FAA also said it would assist the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in investigating the cause of the apparent structural failure, which left a rectangular hole in an area of the fuselage where an optional extra door is usually installed but which was deactivated on Alaska's aircraft.

FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said: "The FAA is requiring immediate inspections of certain Boeing 737 Max 9 planes before they can return to flight. Safety will continue to drive our decision making as we assist the NTSB's investigation into Alaska Airlines Flight 1282." Boeing, the manufacturer of the 737 Max 9 planes, said it supports the FAA's decision and regrets the impact of the incident on its customers and passengers.

"Safety is our top priority and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers," Boeing said in a statement. "We agree with and fully support the FAA's decision to require immediate inspections of 737 9 airplanes with the same configuration as the affected airplane." Boeing also said it has sent a technical team to support the NTSB's investigation and will remain in close contact with its regulator and customers.

The incident comes as Boeing is trying to recover from a series of setbacks over its 737 Max jets, which were grounded globally for almost two years after two fatal crashes that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019. Boeing has also faced issues with its 737 Max 7 model, which it has asked the regulation that prevents the engine casing from overheating and detaching during flight.

Additionally, some 737 Max deliveries have been halted to fix manufacturing defects, and last month, Boeing told airlines to check the planes for a in the rudder control system..