Alaska Airlines canceled 160 flights on Saturday after a Boeing 737 MAX-9 lost a piece of fuselage while in flight on Friday night, leaving a hole in the passenger cabin, as the plane was climbing out of Portland on its way to Ontario, Calif. The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Saturday it has grounded all 171 of the jets worldwide for inspection for airworthiness. The inspections take several hours per jet.
As many as 23,000 passengers were impacted by the cancelations as of 4 pm on Saturday, Alaska Airlines said. The airline is expecting additional cancellations on Sunday and predicts disruptions in travel to last through at least midweek. A flexible travel policy is in place for guests to change or cancel their flights.
One Alaskan told Must Read Alaska she was on phone hold with the airlines for three hours before being able to get a new flight connection out of Seattle for her college student, who was returning to school from Christmas break.
During the midair emergency, several passengers sustained injuries that required medical attention, but all have now been medically cleared, the airline said Saturday. One child was reported to have had his shirt sucked from his body when the cabin pressure quickly changed.
“We are deeply sorry for the disruption this has caused our guests,” the airlines said in its statement.
The aircraft that had the structural failure was delivered to Alaska Airlines on Oct. 31. The part that failed is called a plug door, or alternately a door plug, which is a specific panel of the fuselage near the rear of the aircraft that can be converted into an emergency exit, if the aircraft needs one to comply with passenger load regulations.
The required inspections take around four to eight hours per aircraft and affect about 171 aircraft worldwide. In addition to Alaska Airlines, United Airlines has been impacted by the grounding order. United has 79 of the 737 MAX 9s.
Boeing issued a terse statement: “Safety is our top priority and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers. 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. In addition, a Boeing technical team is supporting the NTSB’s investigation into last night’s event. We will remain in close contact with our regulator and customers.”
American Airlines, Delta, and Allegiant have Airbus fleets and Southwest Airlines does not operate the 737 MAX-9 model.
Meanwhile, the NTSB has taken over as the lead investigating agency and is looking for the missing door in Oregon. According to the radar data, the plane’s door is somewhere near Highway 217 near Barnes Road, southwest of Portland between Portland International Airport and Beaverton.
After a day of planning on Saturday, the first full day of the investigation will start Sunday, said NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy during a Saturday night news conference in Portland.
