Loose bolts found on Boeing aircraft after Alaska Airlines blowout

Some of the bolts attaching door plugs onto Boeing aircraft in United Airlines’ fleet were loose, the carrier confirmed Monday in the wake of . “We have found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug — for example, bolts that needed additional tightening,” a United spokesperson told the Daily News in an email.

“These findings will be remedied by our Tech Ops team to safely return the aircraft to service.” United has 79 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft in its fleet, the airline stated. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded all such models over the weekend after a of an Alaska Airlines flight about 3 miles above Oregon, leaving a gaping hole and forcing the plane to turn back and make an emergency landing at its origin airport.

A door plug is a panel used to cover an unused exit door. The 63 pound piece , with aviation officials retrieving it on Monday. The FAA grounded 171 Boeing , pending inspections. United told the Daily News that service on Boeing 737 MAX 9s remained suspended on Monday and that 200 flights scheduled for those aircraft had been canceled.

, a total of 141. “We expect significant cancellations on Tuesday as well,” United stated. “We have been able to operate some planned flights by switching to other aircraft types, avoiding about 30 cancellations each on Monday and Tuesday.” The FAA on Monday finalized guidelines for inspecting and repairing the door plugs on Max 9 jets.

Boeing said it was monitoring the situation. “As operators conduct the required inspections, we are staying in close contact with them and will help address any and all findings,” the manufacturer told The News in a statement. “We are committed to ensuring every Boeing airplane meets design specifications and the highest safety and quality standards.

We regret the impact this has had on our customers and their passengers.” Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun said he’d meet with all employees on Tuesday via webcast to discuss safety. “When serious accidents like this occur, it is critical for us to work transparently with our customers and regulators to understand and address the causes of the event, and to ,” he said in a statement.

“We will spend time together Tuesday talking about our company’s response to this accident, and reinforcing our focus on and our commitment to safety, quality, integrity and transparency.”.