United Airlines discovered loose bolts and installation issues on some Boeing 737 Max 9 jets after inspecting them following a mid-flight fuselage blowout on an Alaska Airlines jet.
“Since we began preliminary inspections on Saturday, we have found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug – for example, bolts that needed additional tightening,” Chicago-based United said as quoted by the Associated Press.
Moreover, a source told Reuters that United discovered more than ten aircraft with loose bolts, up from five, and that the number could rise further.
A Boeing Co. 737 Max jet operated by Alaska Airlines made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport on Friday after a window and a portion of the plane’s fuselage blew out shortly after take-off. Following the incident, Alaska Airlines grounded all of its Boeing 737-9 aircraft.
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Earlier on Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved guidelines for inspecting the door plugs on other Max 9 jets and repairing them, if necessary. That move could speed the return to service of the 171 planes that the FAA grounded.
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Currently, Alaska has 64 Max 9s while United Airlines owns 79 of them and no other US airlines operate that model. Turkish Airlines, Panama’s Copa Airlines and Aeromexico said they had grounded affected jets. Indonesia said it had suspended the use of three jets not covered by the order, as reported by Reuters.
On Monday, Alaska Airlines cancelled 141 flights, or 20% of its scheduled departures and have said that travel disruptions are expected to last through at least mid-week. United cancelled 226 flights on Monday which is 8 percent of its scheduled departures.