Bolts in need of “additional tightening” have been found during inspections of Boeing 737 Max 9s, United Airlines has said. Inspections began after a section of the fuselage fell from an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 on Friday. United Airlines said “installation issues” relating to door plugs would be “remedied” before the aircraft type would return to service. Some 171 planes of the same type remain grounded by the US regulator. In its statement, United said: “Since we began preliminary inspections on Saturday, we have found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug – for example, bolts that needed additional tightening.”
The door plug is a piece of fuselage with a window that can be used as an emergency exit in certain configurations. It was this part of the Alaska Airlines plane which dramatically fell off mid-flight over the US state of Oregon, eventually landing in a teacher’s back garden. The plane made an emergency landing and none of the passengers or crew were seriously injured.
The vast majority of Boeing 737 Max 9s used in the US are operated by United Airlines and Alaska, while Turkish Airlines, Panama’s Copa Airlines and Aeromexico have also grounded jets of the same model for inspections. United said it had canceled 200 flights as of Monday and expected significant cancellations on Tuesday. “We have been able to operate some planned flights by switching to other aircraft types, avoiding about 30 cancellations each on Monday and Tuesday,” United added.
Meanwhile, on Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which regulates air travel in the US, said it had provided a checklist for operators to adhere to during inspections. In a statement, the FAA said all 737 Max 9 aircraft would remain grounded until operators “complete enhanced inspections which include both left and right cabin door exit plugs, door components, and fasteners”.
“Operators must also complete corrective action requirements based on findings from the inspections prior to bringing any aircraft back into service,” the statement added.
Flight 1282 reached 16,000ft (4.8km) when it began its emergency descent on Friday evening, according to flight tracking data.
Images shared online – and later by investigators – showed a wide hole in the side of the craft, with oxygen masks dangling from the ceiling.
Passengers were quoted by The Oregonian newspaper as saying that a young boy seated near the affected area had his shirt ripped off by the force of the decompression…
Source: .bbc.com/news
Monday, April 20, 2026
