Alaska Airlines has grounded its entire fleet of Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft after a panel blew out from one of the aircraft as it climbed from Portland, Oregon.
The plane, on a routine flight to Ontario near Los Angeles, suffered immediate depressurisation and declared an emergency. All 177 passengers and crew were safe when the aircraft landed back at Portland. But the incident has once again raised questions about an aircraft type that was involved in two fatal crashes.
The Boeing 737, first launched in 1967, is the world’s most successful aircraft – with around 10,000 delivered. But the latest version, the Max, was involved in two terrible tragedies.
On 29 October 2018, a faulty sensor triggered an anti-stall system that caused Lion Air flight 610 to crash shortly after take off from Jakarta. All 189 passengers and crew died.
Less than six months later, Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi was lost, along with 157 lives, in similar circumstances.
The plane was grounded worldwide shortly afterwards. After a rigorous redesign and certification, the aircraft is flying again – including for Europe’s biggest budget airline, Ryanair.
What does the latest event mean for passengers? These are the key questions and answers.
High flyer: Boeing 737 Max 9. The optional exit can be seen between the wing and the tail – a window slightly separated from those left and right
(Boeing)
What was the cause of the two fatal crashes?
Both tragedies were attributed to software known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), which was installed because of the unusual structure of the latest variant of the 737 – with large engines mounted further forward than is usual.
MCAS was intended “to provide consistent handling qualities”. But neither the main safety regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) nor airlines that bought the plane were fully informed of the new system.
In both crashes, incorrect data from a faulty sensor caused the software to push the nose of the aircraft down repeatedly while the pilots struggled for control.
Following the Ethiopian Airlines tragedy, the Max was grounded for 20 months while safety enhancements were made. The plane re-entered service in December 2020 and has been flying routinely since then.
What appears to have happened to Alaska Airlines jet?
A panel containing…
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