Authorities inspect Boeing 737 Max 9 planes after midair blowout

Alaska Airlines is canceling a “significant” number of flights Monday following midair blowout on one of its planes heading from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario International Airport.

Alaska Airlines canceled 170 flights across the country Sunday after a section of fuselage blew out Friday on an Alaska Airlines flight bound for Ontario International Airport, causing federal authorities to ground dozens of Boeing 737 Max 9 planes with the same configuration.

The airline said the cancellations affected about 25,000 customers, and “additional significant cancellations” were expected through the first half of the week.

The Federal Aviation Administration grounded about 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes Saturday, after Alaska Airlines had grounded all its 737 Max 9 planes Friday pending inspections, with plans to resume flights once the planes were deemed safe. The FAA estimated that the inspections would take between four and eight hours per aircraft.

United Airlines also suspended service on its Boeing 737 Max 9 planes pending inspections, and was working to accommodate affected passengers.

A flexible travel policy was in place for guests to change or cancel their flights.

Lauren Alba, director of executive communications for Los Angeles World Airports, which operates LAX, told City News Service that five Alaska Airlines flights and eight United flights were affected Sunday, but she added that the airport was seeing “no major impacts” from the order.

Spokesman Mike Christensen of Hollywood/Burbank Airport told City News Service that the airport had seen no cancellations or delays as of Sunday morning. A spokeswoman for Long Beach Airport told CNS that Alaska was not one of its carriers and the airport was not impacted by the issue as of Saturday.

Representatives for American Airlines and Southwest Airlines told CNS that their companies do not use 737-9 planes and their operations would not be affected.

Alaska said the incident involved a plug door, a specific panel of the fuselage near the rear of the aircraft, and added that the plane involved in the flight was delivered on Oct. 31, 2023.

Eighteen of Alaska’s 737-9 MAX aircraft received in-depth inspections and continued in service Saturday until the airline received the FAA’s order. Those aircraft were then pulled from service until details about possible additional maintenance work were confirmed with the FAA.

No serious injuries were reported aboard the Ontario-bound flight, which took off from Portland International Airport, although Alaska Airlines later said several passengers “experienced injuries that required medical attention. All guests have now been medically cleared.”

“Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California, experienced an incident this evening soon after departure,” the airline said in a statement Friday. “The aircraft landed safely back at Portland International Airport with 171 guests and 6 crew members. The safety of our guests and employees is always our primary priority, so while this type of occurrence is rare, our flight crew was trained and prepared to safely manage the situation. We are investigating what happened and will share more information as it becomes available.”

A video shot by a passenger and shared on TikTok shows a hole in the plane where a window would normally be.

“It was really abrupt. Just got to altitude, and the window/wall just popped off and didn’t notice it until the oxygen masks came off,” passenger Kyle Rinker told CNN.

Seattle-based Boeing issued the following 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 (Friday’s) event. We will remain in close contact with our regulator and customers.”

Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci apologized to the passengers aboard the Ontario-bound flight.

“My heart goes out to those who were on this flight. I am so sorry for what you experienced. I am so grateful for the response of our pilots and flight attendants,” Minicucci’s statement said. “We have teams on the ground in Portland assisting passengers and are working to support guests who are traveling in the days ahead.”

The FAA order says it was “prompted by a report of an in-flight departure of a mid cabin door plug, which resulted in a rapid decompression of the airplane. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the potential in-flight loss of a mid cabin door plug, which could result in injury to passengers and crew, the door impacting the airplane, and/or loss of control of the airplane.

“The FAA is issuing this AD because the agency has determined the unsafe condition described previously is likely to exist or develop in other products of the same type design.”

So far, the inspections have turned up no reports of further issues.

The National Transportation Safety Board has assumed the lead role in the investigation.

Rep. Norma Torres, D-Ontario, sent a letter to FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker demanding answers about how the agency and Boeing will address any safety issues brought to light by Friday’s occurrence.

“This incident endangered the lives of 177 souls on board Alaska Airlines flight 1282 and the thousands of others who may be in harm’s way on similar planes or by whose travel plans were disrupted by the precautionary groundings that Alaska Airlines has taken,” Torres wrote. “America has long held the record of having the safest airspace and flight protocols in the world. That said, Boeing’s track record, along with the FAA’s safety oversight in recent years, has raised serious, warranted concerns for the flying public.”

Torres is a senior member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, which oversees government funding for federal transportation programs.