On January 6th local time, Boeing issued a statement on its official website regarding the inspection of the 737-9 aircraft model: Safety is our top priority, and we deeply regret the impact this incident has had on its customers and passengers. We agree and fully support the decision of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to immediately inspect the 737-9 aircraft with the same configuration as the affected aircraft.
In addition, a technical team from Boeing is supporting the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation into last night's incident. We will continue to maintain close contact with regulatory agencies and clients.
Boeing issued a statement on the 6th expressing support for the Federal Aviation Administration's decision to immediately conduct safety inspections on the 737 MAX 9 aircraft with the same configuration as the accident aircraft. The National Transportation Safety Commission of the United States has dispatched personnel to Portland on the 6th to investigate the accident.
According to CCTV News on January 7th, citing Reuters local time, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has adopted instructions from the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States regarding the Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft. The European Aviation Safety Agency also pointed out that currently there are no airlines from EU member states operating aircraft with affected configurations.
According to Xinhua News Agency on January 7th, the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States ordered a temporary suspension of Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft operated by American airlines or within the United States for safety inspections. The Federal Aviation Administration of the United States stated that this emergency airworthiness directive will affect approximately 171 aircraft, and operators are required to inspect the aircraft in accordance with the directive before resuming flights. According to statistics, Boeing has delivered 218 737 MAX 9 aircraft worldwide.
An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft crashed in the air shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon on the 5th, and immediately made an emergency landing without causing any casualties. At that time, the plane was carrying 174 passengers and 6 crew members. According to US media reports, photos taken by passengers on board show a damaged area on the side of the cabin next to the passenger's seat. After the accident, Alaska Airlines announced that it would ground all of its aircraft of the same model.
According to CCTV News on January 6th, Alaska Airlines stated in a statement that its Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, with flight number 1282, flew from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California on the same day. Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft experienced an accident and immediately returned. At that time, the plane was carrying 171 passengers and 6 crew members. It is reported that the 737MAX9 aircraft operating this flight is only 0.3 years old, with registration number N704AL. The New York Times reported that the aircraft was certified in November 2023 and put into commercial service that month. Since then, it has operated 145 flights.
The Federal Aviation Administration of the United States stated that before the aircraft returned, the crew reported a loss of pressure on the aircraft. According to US media reports, a portion of the aircraft's fuselage fell into the air at the time of the incident. The report states that the dropped component is the rear emergency escape hatch, which is generally used during remote flight missions; But most American airlines do not use this emergency door position and instead arrange seats as regular window seats.
Passenger involved in the aircraft: The dropped component is as wide as the refrigerator and is about two-thirds the height of the refrigerator. There was a loud noise coming from the left side of the plane, and all the oxygen masks popped out. I heard that a child sitting in that row was sucked out of the fuselage, but fortunately his mother hugged him tightly and he didn't have any problems.
According to records from the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States, the aircraft involved in the accident was just taken offline and certified more than two months ago. The investigation into the incident is currently underway.
Public information shows that the Boeing 737MAX series aircraft are the latest generation of single channel narrow body passenger planes, including the Boeing 737 MAX7, Boeing 737 MAX8, 737 MAX9, 737 MAX10, and Boeing 737 MAX200. The first aircraft made its debut on December 8, 2015 and completed its maiden flight on January 29, 2016.
In October 2018 and March 2019, there were air crashes on flights of Lion Air Indonesia and Ethiopian Airlines, resulting in a total of 346 fatalities. The crashed planes were both Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. The Boeing 737 MAX aircraft was subsequently grounded in multiple countries and regions around the world for nearly two years. However, the Boeing 737MAX aircraft involved in the previous air crash was the 737MAX8, while Alaska Airlines had the 737MAX9 aircraft involved in this accident, which is not the same aircraft.
In 2023, US regulatory authorities were reported to have disregarded internal warnings and continued to allow the Boeing 737 MAX to fly after the plane crash.
According to a report by Xinhua News Agency on April 30, 2023, an investigation report shows that the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States continues to allow the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to fly despite warnings from internal personnel regarding its safety after two air accidents. On April 29, 2023, the Associated Press reported, citing a report from the Office of the Inspector General of the United States Department of Transportation, that after the crash of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft by Ethiopian Airlines in March 2019, some engineers from the Seattle branch of the Federal Aviation Administration suggested grounding the 737 MAX series aircraft because the crash had "similarities" with the same model of aircraft crashed by Lion Air Indonesia in October of the previous year.
According to the report, one of the engineers preliminarily estimated that the probability of the 737 MAX aircraft crashing again is 13 times the risk limit allowed by the Federal Aviation Administration; An aviation official suggested that based on the analysis results, if no improvements are made to this series of aircraft, the probability of accidents occurring within 60 days is 25%. However, officials from the Aviation Administration headquarters and Seattle branch did not adopt the grounding proposal, citing the need to wait for more detailed data.
The Office of the Inspector General of the United States Department of Transportation checked e-mail and asked FAA personnel during the investigation, and suggested in the report that the FAA should make many improvements to the air crash investigation. The Federal Aviation Administration responded to the Associated Press by accepting the recommendations made in the report.
As of the close of the US stock market on January 5th, Boeing (BA) closed at $249, up 1.66%, with a total market value of $150.6 billion.