US regulator orders inspections on some Boeing MAX 9 planes after emergency

The US air safety regulator said Saturday it was grounding some Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets pending inspections, a day after a panel blew out of one of the planes over the western state of Oregon.

The Federal Aviation Administration “is requiring immediate inspections of certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes before they can return to flight,” the agency said on X.

It added that around 171 aircraft worldwide would be affected, with each inspection taking four to eight hours.

Alaska and United Airlines fly the largest number of MAX 9 planes, while Icelandair and Turkish Airlines have smaller fleets of the aircraft.

Boeing has so far delivered about 218 of the 737 MAX planes worldwide, the company told AFP.

US-based Alaska Airlines grounded all 65 of its Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes on Friday after a flight carrying 171 passengers and six crew was forced to make an emergency landing, with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) saying a sealed-over door panel had opened and come off mid-flight.

Alaska Flight 1282 had departed from Portland International Airport and was still gaining altitude when the cabin crew reported a “pressurization issue,” according to the FAA.