The US has ordered the temporary suspension of all Boeing Max aeroplanes. This decision was taken after a horrific incident on Alaska Airlines flight number 1282. On January 4, the exterior of an Alaska Airlines plane, including a window, fell off during flight. This incident took place in a Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft.
Following the recent incident, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has decided to ground the operation of certain Boeing 737 Max 9 aeroplanes used by US airlines or flying within the US. Emerging reports suggest that the FAA has taken a decisive step forward due to the ongoing accidents involving Boeing. MAX has opted to suspend all activities until further notice.
On Tuesday, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun accepted accountability for a significant incident involving Alaska Airlines last week. Speaking to his company’s employees after the horrific incident, he said, “We will accept our mistake and resolve it on a priority basis.” However, efforts to re-operate the 737 Max 9 aircraft suffered a setback on Tuesday. US government officials have ordered Boeing to revise aircraft inspection guidelines for airlines.
Fresh concerns about Boeing’s 737 Max planes arose on January 9 when loose parts were found on parked planes, adding to existing concerns among experts about the jet’s manufacturing process. Bolts were found loose in many aircraft. A day earlier, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said, “The FAA requires immediate inspection of some Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft before they can return to flight.”
On January 6, the window of an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland to Ontario was blown out of the air. The broken window caused the plane to lose pressure and immediately land in Portland. All 180 on board (174 passengers and 6 crew) survived safely.
India Also Gave an Update
India had become alert after the American incident. On Monday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that the Boeing 737-8 Max aircraft inspection had been completed and was satisfactory. On January 5, the DGCA directed domestic airlines to immediately inspect the emergency exits of all Boeing 737-8 Max aircraft in their fleet as an ‘adequate precautionary measure’ in the wake of the Alaska Airlines incident.
“These trials have been conducted satisfactorily on the operational fleet of Boeing B737-8 MAX aircraft by Air India Express (4), SpiceJet (8) and Akasa (20),” the DGCA said in the statement. According to the statement, Akasa Air also has a B737-8200 aircraft in its fleet, which has a mid-cabin door, and its operational checks have been completed satisfactorily.
