Travel plans continued to skid off the runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Saturday with at least 66 flights canceled due to the ongoing grounding of Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft and inclement weather conditions across the country. The Seattle Times reports Alaska Airlines has axed additional flights through Tuesday amid safety probes into their mid-flight mishap last Friday, where a fuselage section flew off at 16,000 feet.
The Federal Aviation Administration has put the MAX 9s on ice, as they dive into what led to the dramatic expulsion of an emergency exit door panel on Alaska Flight 1282. Amidst the chaos, another 57 flights experienced delays, though some managed to leave before the break of dawn, with more still on track, noted by The Seattle Times.
Taking off from the tumultuous events at Portland International Airport on January 5, the FAA announced it would launch a formal investigation into Boeing, as stated by Al Jazeera. "This incident should have never happened and it cannot happen again," the FAA declared, referencing the cabin panel catastrophe. This new turbulence for Boeing comes after the profound losses of the 2018 and 2019 crashes, which saw the grounding of the 737 MAX series for nearly two years.
More than a problematic piece soaring out over Oregon, the FAA has widened its safety scans to include "additional discrepancies on other Boeing 737-9 airplanes," which could slam Boeing with a financial penalty. This includes reports of "loose" hardware on aircraft deployed to customers like Alaska and United Airlines. Boeing, nailing the blueprints but potentially not the execution, must now satisfy the high safety standards it's bound to, with the FAA demanding a comprehensive response within 10 days, revealed by Puget Sound Business Journal.
Boeing, pledging to "cooperate fully and transparently," now must piece together the root cause of the failure and the steps necessary to prevent its reoccurrence. Jeff Guzzetti, former FAA chief of investigations, told Al Jazeera, that the FAA's use of "sweeping" language could signal a broader inquiry into the company's manufacturing processes. With the investigation set to stretch over months, Boeing faces the grim prospect of hefty fines should systemic flaws come to light.
