Alaska Airlines says 18 Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft have been inspected and returned to service
From CNN’s Pete Muntean
Alaska Airlines says about a quarter of its Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft have been returned to service after “thorough” inspections, and that the remaining inspections will be “completed in the next few days.”
The inspections came after Alaska announced it would temporarily ground its fleet of the aircraft model following Friday night’s emergency landing — and after an order from the Federal Aviation Administration to ground and inspect certain 737 Max 9 planes nationwide.
The planes were returned to service following “in-depth and thorough plug door inspections,” Alaska said in a statement. The “plug door” refers to a portion of the plane’s fuselage that the manufacturer can put in place instead of an emergency exit door, depending on the configuration requested by an airline. This is the portion of the plane that blew off Friday night, according to firsthand accounts and video from passengers, leaving a refrigerator-sized hole.
“The inspection process of the remaining 737-9 aircraft is expected to be completed in the next few days,” Alaska said in the statement. “We will provide additional updates on the progress of our inspections.”
CNN has asked the airline to confirm if its inspections, which it says were conducted “early this morning,” comply with the inspections the FAA mandated as part of its order.
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