Hours after American airline United Airlines announced the discovery of several poorly tightened screws during an initial inspection of the disabled emergency exits in its fleet of Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft, American airline Alaska Airlines made a surprising announcement. On Monday, Alaska Airlines reported that it had discovered "poorly secured parts" in some of its Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft, just three days after one of its planes of the same model encountered an incident during a flight.
The company stated in a report that the initial inspection revealed visible poorly secured parts in some aircraft. It added that this preliminary inspection would be followed by comprehensive inspections and audits in accordance with directives from U.S. aviation authorities. This statement came just hours after the announcement from United Airlines regarding the discovery of several poorly tightened screws during an initial inspection of the deactivated emergency exits in their Boeing 737 Max 9 fleet.
Last Friday, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 was forced to make an emergency landing after an emergency exit plug detached from the aircraft during a domestic flight from Portland (Oregon) to Ontario (California). Following this incident, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered the grounding of 171 aircraft of this model pending inspections.
Additionally, several countries around the world temporarily suspended operations of this aircraft model. It is noteworthy that the Boeing 737 Max 9 is equipped with multiple emergency exits, and Boeing offers its clients the option to deactivate some of these exits using plugs if the remaining exits are sufficient compared to the number of seats on the plane.
On Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that it had approved a roadmap for carriers to complete inspections, which include the left and right door plugs and components and fasteners. Meanwhile, numerous comments spread across social media questioning the safety and airworthiness of these aircraft, particularly following the recent decision by authorities.
