United Airlines, one of the largest airlines in the United States and the world, has discovered loose bolts and other parts on the doors of at least five Boeing Max 9 aircraft.
This was reported by the industry publication Air Current.
The planes were inspected after a 737 MAX 9 of Alaska Airlines blew out an emergency exit door on January 5 during a flight torn out the door of the emergency exit.
The malfunctions were eliminated so that the company could resume flights. United canceled about 200 flights on January 8 due to the need to inspect aircraft.
On the evening of January 8, Alaska Airlines said that maintenance specialists discovered the problems during an inspection of the 737 Max 9 fleet.
“Initial reports from our technicians indicate that loose equipment was visible on some aircraft,” the statement said.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing declined to comment.
At the end of December, Boeing warned air carriers that a loose bolt in the rudder control rod was found in two 737 MAX aircraft.
The company assured that there were no incidents during operation and called on air carriers to check all 1370 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft delivered to the world market “for the purpose of prevention.”
After the incident with the Alaska Airlines plane, the FAA took 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9s out of service. The vast majority of aircraft of this model used in the United States are operated by United Airlines and Alaska Airlines.
There were 177 passengers and crew members on board the downed aircraft. According to the representatives of Alaska Airlines, none of them were injured.
On January 8, the missing part of the Alaska Airlines plane, which began to disintegrate in flight, was found in the backyard of a Portland schoolteacher.
The aircraft was in service for only eight weeks: Alaska Airlines received it in November 2023.
