Alaska Airlines and United Airlines have begun flying their Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft again around three weeks after a mid-air incident on board an Alaska plane prompted the grounding of their MAX 9 fleets.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered the suspension of around 171 MAX 9s globally after the incident, in which a door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines plane shortly after it had departed Portland International Airport bound for Ontario (California) on 5 January.
After fleet-wide inspections, Alaska Airlines’ first resumed MAX 9 flight – AS1146 – flew from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to San Diego on Friday afternoon (U.S. time), followed by two more MAX 9 services, the airline said.
According to America’s ABC News, the airline said on Friday, “Each of our 737-9 MAX will return to service only after the rigorous inspections are completed and each plane is deemed airworthy according to FAA requirements”.
“The individual inspections are expected to take up to 12 hours per aircraft,” it added.
According to CNN, Alaska Airlines Chief Operating Officer Constance von Muehlen sat in the seat in the same row where the blowout occurred, saying she had full confidence in the plane.
The Seattle-based carrier said it expects its full fleet of 65 MAX 9s to be back in the air during the first week of February, CEO Ben Minicucci told a teleconference on Thursday, the ABC reported.
Alaska Airlines vowed to give every passenger who endured the mid-air emergency a ticket refund and US$1,500 (around AU$2,200) to help with any inconveniences.
Last week, the FAA stopped any production expansion of Boeing’s MAX aircraft, including the grounded B737-9s.
After reviewing data from 40 plane inspections, the FAA also approved a detailed set of inspection and maintenance instructions. These instructions involve checking specific bolts, guide tracks and fittings, conducting detailed visual inspections of mid-cabin exit door plugs, retorquing fasteners, and addressing any damage found.
Boeing said in a statement Wednesday that it “will continue to cooperate fully and transparently with the FAA and follow their direction as we take action to strengthen safety and quality at Boeing”.
“We will also work closely with our airline customers as they complete the required inspection procedures to safely return their 737-9 airplanes to service,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, United Airlines said it resumed its MAX 9 flights on Saturday, with the first flight a Newark-Las Vegas service with 175 passengers and six crew onboard, Reuters reported.
