The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered U.S. airlines to ground some Boeing 737 Max 9 planes for inspections following a mid-air incident where a plane lost a chunk of its body. Alaska and United Airlines have canceled flights and grounded their Max 9 fleets for the inspections. Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, which took off from Portland, Oregon, was diverted back to Portland after six minutes due to a hole in the plane’s body. Passengers described a terrifying experience with wind blowing through the hole. The FAA has ordered inspections of the “mid cabin door plug” and the affected planes are configured with fewer seats that do not require all the exits. The inspections are expected to take four to eight hours per plane. Boeing has expressed support for the FAA’s decision and Alaska Airlines has started inspecting the door plugs, clearing 18 out of 65 Max 9s for service.
