Multiple countries ground Boeing planes due to safety concerns following Alaska Airlines incident

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Sunday that a total of 171 Boeing MAX 9 airplanes will remain grounded until the agency is convinced they can safely operate following a cabin panel blowout on Friday.

"We have grounded the affected airplanes, and they will remain grounded until the FAA is satisfied that they are safe," the FAA said.

The temporary grounding of some Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft operated by U.S. airlines or in U.S. territory was ordered on Saturday after a serious mid-air incident on Friday. During an Alaska Airlines flight out of Portland, Oregon, part of a Boeing 737 MAX 9 fuselage blew out. The incident occurred just eight weeks into the aircraft's service.

The plane had been in service for just eight weeks.

"The FAA is requiring immediate inspections of certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes before they can return to flight," FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said. "Safety will continue to drive our decision-making as we assist the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation into Alaska Airlines Flight 1282."

The FAA said its Emergency Airworthiness Directive will affect approximately 171 airplanes. Boeing has delivered a total of 218 MAX 9s worldwide.

Turkish Airlines also removed its fleet of five Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft from operation for examination, company spokesperson Yahya Ustun stated on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

According to local reports, Copa Airlines and Aeromexico, the flag carriers of Panama and Mexico, together grounded about 40 Boeing 737 Max 9s after the depressurization incident of the Alaska Airlines aircraft.

Copa Airlines, which temporarily suspended 21 737 MAX 9 aircraft, expressed confidence in returning them to the flight schedule safely and reliably within the next 24 hours. The airline also acknowledged potential delays and cancellations during this period.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has endorsed the FAA's MAX 9 directive, emphasizing that no airlines from EU member states currently operate an aircraft in the specified configuration. A British air safety regulator stated that any 737 MAX 9 operator must adhere to the FAA directive to gain access to its airspace.

Numerous blemishes

On October 29, 2018, a new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, carrying 189 passengers, departed from Jakarta, Indonesia, bound for Pangkal Pinang on a one-hour flight. Twelve minutes after takeoff, the Lion Air-operated plane crashed into Java Sea at an almost vertical angle, traveling at 500 mph. There were no survivors.

Five months later, an eerie coincidence unfolded: A Boeing 737 Max 8, identical to the one involved in the Lion Air tragedy, took off from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, en route to Kenya. Just six minutes into the flight, it plummeted to the ground, claiming the lives of all 157 passengers.

The impact was so intense that a significant portion of the aircraft disintegrated, leaving investigators to scour the area around the resulting crater for clues, evidence and human remains.

On January 9, 2021, a Boeing 737-500 tragically plunged into the Java Sea shortly after departing from Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. The ill-fated Sriwijaya Air Flight, en route from Jakarta to Pontianak on the island of Borneo, carried 62 individuals, comprising six crew members and 56 passengers. The devastating incident resulted in the loss of all lives on board, with all reported fatalities being Indonesian nationals.

In October of that year, a former Boeing test pilot named Mark Forkner was charged by a federal grand jury. He was accused of misleading the FAA and engaging in a plot to defraud airlines during the development of the 737 Max, which suffered two fatal crashes within five months, resulting in the deaths of 346 people.

(With input from agencies)