Boeing faces new scrutiny about the safety of its best-selling plane after federal officials announced the temporary grounding of some Boeing 737 Max planes on Saturday, following a harrowing flight in which an Alaska Airlines jetliner was left with a gaping hole in its side. On Friday, a fuselage panel blew out on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 seven minutes after takeoff from Portland, Oregon. Alaska plugs those doors because its 737 Max 9 jets don't have enough seats to trigger the requirement for another emergency exit. A Max 8 jet operated by Lion Air crashed in Indonesia in 2018, and an Ethiopian Airlines Max 8 crashed in 2019. However, that incident involved an earlier version of the Boeing 737, not a Max.

Source: Ethiopian News January 06, 2024 17:45 UTC