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Inspections of grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners underway

United Airlines said Monday it found loose bolts and other “installation issues” on a part of some Boeing 737 Max 9 jets that were inspected after a mid-flight fuselage blowout on a similar Alaska Airlines jet Friday. The inspections are focused on plugs used to seal an area set aside for extra emergency doors that are not required on United and Alaska Max 9s. That plug is the part that blew off the Alaska plane as it cruised 16,000 feet (4,900 meters) over Oregon.

By Craig Mitchelldyer, Claire Rush and Richard Drew/AP, National Transportation Safety Board, Karen Ducey/The Seattle Times and Elizabeth Le via AP

Jan. 8, 2024

Video

1/17
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VIDEO BY AP
The Boeing jetliner that suffered an inflight blowout over Oregon was not being used for flights to Hawaii after a warning light that could have indicated a pressurization problem lit up on three different flights, a federal official said Sunday.
2/17
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ELIZABETH LE VIA AP

This image from video provided by Elizabeth Le shows passengers near the damage on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9, Flight 1282, which was forced to return to Portland International Airport on Friday, Jan. 5.
3/17
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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Alaska Airlines N704AL, a 737 Max 9 which made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport after a part of the fuselage broke off mid-flight on Friday, is parked at a maintenance hanger in Portland, Ore., Saturday, Jan. 6.
4/17
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ASSOCIATED PRESS

An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-990ER flight 337 from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., lands at Portland International Airport in Portland, Ore., Saturday, Jan. 6. The FAA has ordered the temporary grounding of Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft after part of the fuselage blew out during a flight.
5/17
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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Alaska Airlines flight 1276, a Boeing 737-900, taxis before takeoff from Portland International Airport in Portland, Ore., Saturday, Jan. 6. The FAA has ordered the temporary grounding of Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft after part of the fuselage blew out during a flight.
6/17
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THE SEATTLE TIMES VIA AP

Kelvin Lau, left, waits with his family, including daughter Chloe, 3, to rebook a canceled Alaska Airlines flight, Saturday, Jan. 6, in SeaTac, Wash. Alaska Airlines canceled more than 100 flights after grounding Boeing’s fleet of 65 Max 9s for inspections following Friday’s emergency landing of a Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner.
7/17
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NTSB VIA AP

This photo released by the National Transportation Safety Board shows the door plug from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on Monday, Jan. 8, in Portland, Ore. A panel used to plug an area reserved for an exit door on the Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner blew out Jan. 5, shortly after the flight took off from Portland, forcing the plane to return to Portland International Airport.
8/17
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NTSB VIA AP

This photo released by the National Transportation Safety Board shows the door plug from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on Monday, Jan. 8, in Portland, Ore. A panel used to plug an area reserved for an exit door on the Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner blew out Jan. 5, shortly after the flight took off from Portland, forcing the plane to return to Portland International Airport.
9/17
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THE SEATTLE TIMES VIA AP

Stephanie Shinn from Kenmore waits three hours at this point while her husband waits in line to rebook their flight to Philadelphia after their flight on Alaska Airlines was canceled at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Saturday, Jan. 6, in SeaTac, Wash. Alaska Airlines canceled more than 100 flights after grounding Boeing's fleet of 65 Max 9s for inspections following Friday's emergency landing of a Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner.
10/17
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ASSOCIATED PRESS

National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy speaks to the media about the investigation of Alaska Airlines flight 1282 in Portland, Ore., Saturday, Jan. 6. Federal officials on Saturday ordered the immediate grounding of some Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners until they are inspected after the Alaska Airlines plane suffered a blowout that left a gaping hole in the side of the fuselage.
11/17
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ASSOCIATED PRESS

The logo for Boeing appears on a screen above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, July 13, 2021. Wall Street is mixed in early trading on Monday. Boeing dragged the Dow lower after one of its jets suffered an inflight blowout.
12/17
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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Adam Pirkle stands with his bicycle on the edge of a densely thicketed area in the Cedar Hills area of southwest Portland, Ore., Sunday, Jan. 7. Pirkle said he rode 14 miles looking for the wreckage of the exit door plug that detached from a Boeing 737 Max 9 shortly after the takeoff of an Alaska Airlines flight on Friday, Jan. 5. The National Transportation Safety Board estimated it may have fallen in the area.
13/17
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ASSOCIATED PRESS

A sprawling hospital complex in the Cedar Hills neighborhood of southwest Portland, Ore., is seen from a patch of densely thicketed land across from it, Sunday, Jan. 7. The National Transportation Safety Board estimated that the exit door plug of a Boeing 737 Max 9 that detached from an Alaska Airlines flight on Friday, Jan. 5, may have landed in the area.
14/17
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ASSOCIATED PRESS

In southwest Portland, Ore., Gavin Redshaw shows the drone he used on Sunday, Jan. 7, to search for the wreckage of the exit door plug of a Boeing 737 Max 9 that detached during an Alaska Airlines flight on Friday, Jan. 5.
15/17
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NTSB VIA AP

In this photo released by the National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB Investigator-in-Charge John Lovell examines the fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on Sunday, Jan. 7, in Portland, Ore. A panel used to plug an area reserved for an exit door on the Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner blew out Friday night shortly after the flight took off from Portland, forcing the plane to return to Portland International Airport.
16/17
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ASSOCIATED PRESS

A patch of land filled with dense, thorny thickets, sandwiched between busy roads and light rail train station, stands across from a sprawling hospital complex in the Cedar Hills neighborhood of southwest Portland, Ore., Sunday, Jan. 7. The National Transportation Safety Board estimated the exit door plug of a Boeing 737 Max 9 that detached from an Alaska Airlines flight shortly after takeoff on Friday, Jan. 5, may have fallen in the area.
17/17
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ASSOCIATED PRESS

On a personal electronic GPS, Beaverton, Ore., resident Adam Pirkle shows the 14 miles he rode on his bicycle in his neighborhood and around southwest Portland, Ore., Sunday, Jan. 7, looking for the exit door plug of a Boeing 737 Max 9 that detached shortly after the takeoff of an Alaska Airlines flight on Friday, Jan. 5. The National Transportation Safety Board estimated the piece may have fallen in the area.

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