Boeing is battling the fallout of repeated problems with reliability, which has prompted a management reshuffle and concerns over safety. The added scrutiny began in January 2024, when a panel on an Alaskan Airlines Boeing 737 9 plane fell off shortly after take-off, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an emergency directive that temporarily grounded certain models of Boeing 737 Max 9s.
Since then, a number of issues including a 787-800 Dreamliner losing altitude suddenly and a lost engine cover on a 737-800 have caused headaches for the American planemaker. Here’s what you need to know.
What has happened at Boeing?
• In April 2024, a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane lost its engine cover during take-off, causing it to strike the wing flap. The FAA has opened an investigation. No one was hurt and the jet returned to Denver International airport.
• In March 2024, a Latam-operated Boeing 787 lost altitude during a flight from Sydney to Auckland, injuring 50 passengers. The Chilean-Brazilian carrier called the incident a “technical event”, which caused people to hit the ceiling of the wide-body Dreamliner aircraft.
• In March 2024, Dave Calhoun, president and chief executive of Boeing, announced he would step down at the end of the year amid the safety crisis.
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• In January 2024, the FAA issued an emergency directive that temporarily grounded certain models of Boeing 737 Max 9s after a panel on an Alaskan Airlines plane fell off shortly after take-off.
What happened on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282?
On January 5, 2024, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 was on its way from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California, when part of its fuselage (the aircraft’s main body) blew out minutes after take-off. A door plug — a panel fitted in place of an unused emergency exit — fell from the plane, and the opening caused a rapid loss of cabin pressure that tore the cockpit door open.
The pilots were forced to make an emergency landing, but fortunately none of the 171 passengers or six crew were seriously injured.
The Max 9 is just one of four models in the 737 Max series, which also includes the smaller Max 7 and Max 8, and the larger Max 10. While Max 7 and Max 10 have yet to be certified for flights, the Max 8 is currently in service. The Max 8 was the first model in the series to enter service, but it caused Max jets to be grounded worldwide in 2019 following two catastrophic crashes. After software updates and intensive safety checks, they came back into service at the end of 2020 and have been deemed safe by authorities. Here’s what you need to know about Boeing and the Max jets.
The incident is currently under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) with the support of the FAA. The US Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into the incident.
Which aircraft have been grounded following the incident?
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The aircraft involved in the incident was a relatively new Boeing 737 Max 9, which had only entered service a few months earlier. It was configured so that one set of emergency exits on board was replaced with door plugs, rather than the actual doors you would see on a standard aircraft.
Following the blowout, the FAA issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) that stated all Boeing 737 Max 9s with a mid-cabin door plug must be grounded until a safety inspection could be carried out.
This EAD was applicable to any aircraft operated by a US airline or operating within US airspace. The aviation analytics firm Cirium said that of the 171 aircraft affected by the grounding, 144 were operated in the US, including by Alaska Airlines and United Airlines. Operators including Turkish Airlines, Copa Airlines and Aeromexico were also affected.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have also adopted the EAD, which means any Boeing 737 Max 9s with the same configuration are banned from European airspace until a safety check has been carried out. No European carriers currently operate an aircraft with this configuration so the impact would be minimal.
In response to the grounding, Boeing said in a statement: “Safety is our top priority and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers. We agree with and fully support the FAA’s decision to require immediate inspections of 737-9 airplanes with the same configuration as the affected airplane. In addition, a Boeing technical team is supporting the NTSB’s investigation into the January 5 accident. We will remain in close contact with our regulator and customers.”
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The cause of the incident remains under investigation. However, some of the grounded aircraft have been allowed to return to service following safety checks.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Stan Deal said in a statement on January 26: “This afternoon, Alaska Airlines began safely returning its 737-9s to service after a three-week grounding, joining Copa Airlines which conducted its first flights yesterday. In the coming days, United Airlines, Aeromexico and Turkish Airlines will also bring their 737-9s back online.”
Could all Boeing 737 Max aircraft be grounded again?
While issuing its EAD, the FAA said that the grounding was only temporary and that the ruling may change depending on the outcome of the investigation into the incident.
The FAA has only grounded Boeing 737 Max 9s with a mid-cabin door plug, and not all Boeing 737 Max 9s, which means it’s unlikely that the ban will be extended to other models within the Boeing 737 Max series. However, the FAA is taking the situation extremely seriously.
Since the incident, the FAA has carried out inspections on 40 of the grounded planes. Based on the results of those inspections, the agency approved an inspection and maintenance process on January 25. It’s a process that every grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 must undergo before being eligible for return to service.
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The FAA administrator Mike Whitaker said: “The exhaustive, enhanced review our team completed after several weeks of information gathering gives me and the FAA confidence to proceed to the inspection and maintenance phase.
“However, let me be clear: this won’t be back to business as usual for Boeing. We will not agree to any request from Boeing for an expansion in production, or approve additional production lines for the 737 Max, until we are satisfied that the quality control issues uncovered during this process are resolved.”
Which airlines use the Boeing 737 Max 9 planes?
According to Cirium Fleets Analyzer, these airlines currently have the following number of Boeing 737 Max 9 planes as part of their fleet:
• United Airlines: 79
• Alaska Airlines: 65
• Copa Airlines: 29
• Aeromexico: 19
• Turkish Airlines: 5
• SCAT: 5
• Icelandair: 4
• Lion Air: 3
• Flydubai: 3
Which European airlines use Boeing 737 Max planes?
There are several models of the Boeing 737 Max jets in operation around the world. Within Europe, airlines that use these planes include Ryanair, Tui, Norwegian and Icelandair.
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Tui and Ryanair both use the Boeing 737 Max 8, while the latter also has 300 Max 10s on order. Neither operate the affected variation of the Max 9.
In fact, the EASA said that it was not aware of any airlines within its member states that operate the grounded variation of Boeing 737 Max 9, based on statements from the FAA and Boeing.
The agency said: “In the specific set-up covered by the EAD, a mid-cabin exit is replaced by a plug-in panel. This configuration is typically adopted by airlines flying lower-density operations (with lower passenger capacity) where this additional exit is not required to meet evacuation safety requirements.
“The 737-9 aircraft operating in Europe do not have this configuration and are therefore not grounded by the EAD and can continue to operate normally.”
How dangerous are Boeing 737 Max planes?
Boeing 737 Max jets were grounded worldwide between March 2019 and November 2020 following two catastrophic crashes involving the Max 8 model.
The first was Lion Air Flight 610, which crashed into the Java Sea shortly after take off on October 29, 2018, killing all 181 passengers and eight crew. The second was Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, which crashed shortly after take off on March 10, 2019, killing all 149 passengers and eight crew.
Both tragedies were attributed in part to the plane’s manoeuvring characteristics augmentation system (MCAS), software that’s intended to improve the stability of the aircraft.
After a lengthy investigation into the crashes and a multi-step recertification process, including changes to the design and software, the FAA, CAA and EASA all deemed Boeing 737 Max jets to be safe to re-enter service.
There hasn’t been an issue involving the MCAS since, but the planemaker has had to pause production or delay delivery of the Max series several times due to various issues related to production.
In April 2021, 90 Max jets were grounded after electrical faults were found on several new planes. The problem was attributed to a change in insulation material since the redesign. In April 2023, Boeing experienced a supplier quality issue that forced it to pause deliveries on its planes. And in August 2023, it experienced a second supplier quality issue that forced it to pause deliveries.
The blowout that affected Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 is still under investigation so it’s impossible to say right now what will happen next.
How can I find out the type of plane I’m flying on?
Airlines will sometimes specify what type of aircraft you’re flying on when you book or when they issue your ticket — for example, on the booking page or on your booking confirmation. If they don’t, you can also look it up on FlightRadar24, SeatGuru or FlightAware, using the departure and destination details or flight number.
There are, however, times when an airline is forced to change the aircraft at the last minute for operational reasons, so you may be travelling on a different make and model altogether.
If you’re boarding a plane, check the body — the model of the aircraft is always specified here. Boeing no longer uses the word “Max” on its newer planes, so instead you’ll see 737-8 for Max 8 and 737-9 for Max 9. For aviation geeks, the split wing tips and larger engines with chevrons towards the back are also telltale signs. The model type will also be stated on the safety cards on board.
Are there any Boeing planes I should avoid?
No, there are no Boeing planes you should avoid. The aircraft affected by the grounding have been taken out of service so you won’t encounter them on a flight. Those that have since returned to service have undergone safety checks and test flights and have been deemed safe.
How can I avoid travelling on a Boeing 737 Max?
The travel booking site Kayak (kayak.co.uk) has a filter that allows users to refine their search and filter out specific aircraft, including Boeing 737s. The filtering tool, rolled out in March 2019, has increased in popularity following the Alaska Airlines incident, with the site reporting a 15-fold increase in use. You can also try alternativeairlines.com, which has a similar feature.
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Additional reporting by Cathy Adams
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