The Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday that it is opening a formal investigation into a Boeing 737 MAX 9 after an Alaska Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing after a cabin panel was blown off in mid-air last week.
The FAA grounded 171 Boeing jets with the same panels after they landed, mostly operated by airlines Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, pending safety inspections.
The FAA said the Alaska Airlines MAX 9 accident “never should have happened and will never happen again.” In a letter Wednesday, the company told Boeing “to confirm that Boeing conforms to the approved design and that the completed product is in compliance with FAA regulations and ready for safe operation.” The investigation was conducted after learning of “further discrepancies.”
“We will fully and transparently cooperate with the FAA and NTSB investigations,” Boeing said in a statement regarding the investigation.
The company's shares fell 1.6% on Thursday.
Both Alaska Airlines and United Airlines said Monday they discovered loose parts on several grounded planes during preliminary inspections, raising new concerns about how Boeing's best-selling jet family is built.
Airlines still need revised inspection and maintenance instructions from Boeing, and FAA approval is needed to resume flying the planes.
Boeing told staff on Tuesday that the findings were being treated as a “quality control issue” and that inspections were being conducted by Boeing and supplier Spirit AeroSystems. Reuters first reported.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told CNBC on Wednesday that a “quality evacuation” was an issue in the MAX 9 cabin explosion. The Alaska Airlines plane was flying at an altitude of 16,000 feet after taking off from Portland, Oregon, when a panel came off of the plane, which had been in service for only eight weeks. The pilot returned the full jet to Portland, but those on board suffered only minor injuries.
The FAA added that Boeing's manufacturing practices “must comply with the high safety standards that it is legally responsible for meeting.”
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg declined to say Wednesday when the FAA would allow planes to return to service, but said it would only do so if it was safe.
“The only consideration in the schedule is safety,” Buttigieg told reporters. “It's not ready until it's ready. No one can and should not be rushed in the process.”
