For Boeing, which is eager to regain its market after two fatal crashes, the latest accident and the FAA's grounding order are undoubtedly another major setback. "While flying at an altitude of 5,000 meters, a loud noise was heard, the side wall of the aircraft suddenly cracked, the emergency door was blown away, and a large hole appeared in the fuselage." The shocking scene was staged on a Boeing passenger plane in the United States, once again involving Boeing in a public controversy.

According to Xinhua News Agency, on the 5th local time, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX9 passenger plane had an accident in the air shortly after takeoff, causing the plane to make an emergency turn back. Fortunately, it landed safely and no one of the 180 crew members was injured.


It is worth mentioning that U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records show that the aircraft in the accident just rolled off the assembly line and passed certification more than two months ago.

After the accident, U.S. regulatory agencies responded quickly and issued grounding orders to airlines. 171 737 MAX9s were grounded worldwide. Many airlines from the United States and Panama to Turkey conducted grounding inspections of the aircraft model.

The accident once again pushed Boeing to the forefront of public opinion. Boeing's stock price fell 7.5% in the German market, U.S. stocks fell more than 8% before the market opened, and Boeing's largest supplier Spirit AeroSystems' U.S. stocks fell more than 16% before the market opened.


Aircraft door falls off at high altitude, quality doubts reappear

Alaska Airlines said in a statement that its Boeing 737 MAX9 passenger plane flight number 1282 was flying from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California. The accident occurred shortly after takeoff and landed safely. There were 174 passengers and 6 crew members on board at the time.

According to media reports, passengers on the flight involved said they heard a loud noise about 20 minutes after takeoff, and then a damage appeared on the side of the cabin. After the accident, the plane made an emergency landing after reaching an altitude of about 4,876 meters.

Such doors on Alaska Airlines aircraft are permanently "inactive."

The Boeing 737 Max 9 is Boeing's longest single-aisle model. It adopts a modular fuselage design that can flexibly install additional emergency doors according to the number of seats, which provides airlines with greater flexibility in cabin configuration.

On the Max9, Boeing installed a cabin exit door behind the wing and in front of the rear exit door. In dense seating configurations, this door is activated to meet evacuation requirements. On Alaska Airlines planes, this door does not open, but is permanently "sealed."

It is worth mentioning that FAA records show that the aircraft in the accident just came off the assembly line and passed certification more than two months ago. Therefore, some analysts pointed out that the new aircraft does not have aging problems caused by long service, and the problem may be related to manufacturing defects.

Jefferies aviation analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu said in a research note:

The 737 MAX9 aircraft had several pressurization problems before the incident, triggering the warning light to light up. While it's too early to pinpoint the cause, years of pressure on Boeing and its suppliers have increased the risk of manufacturing defects.

U.S. officials issue grounding order to many airlines to ground flights for inspections

After the accident, FFA ordered on the 6th to temporarily ground the Boeing 737 MAX9 passenger aircraft operated by American Airlines or within the United States. Many airlines around the world announced the grounding of this type of aircraft.

The FFA grounding order involves approximately 171 aircraft, and operators must inspect these aircraft in accordance with the directive before resuming flights.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board said they would investigate the accident. Boeing said it has been informed of the accident and is collecting more information and will cooperate with the investigation. Spirit AeroSystems, Boeing's largest supplier, will also face review.

At the same time, the European Aviation Safety Agency, Panama Airlines, Aeromexico and other airlines and regulatory agencies from many countries have stated that they have adopted grounding orders and will ground all Boeing 737 MAX9 passenger aircraft until the due investigation procedures are completed.

Alaska Airlines scheduled more than 5,000 flights using Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft in January, while United Airlines scheduled nearly 8,000 flights, according to aviation data provider Cirium. Cirium said there are about 215 Max9 aircraft in service around the world, of which 76 are on order, including 25 aircraft ordered by Alaska Airlines.

Boeing 737 accidents occur frequently, crisis of confidence explodes again

Wang Yanan, an aviation expert at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, pointed out that the latest accident and the FAA's grounding order are undoubtedly another major setback for Boeing, which is eager to regain its market after two fatal air crashes.

Two 737 MAX 8 passenger planes crashed in October 2018 and March 2019 due to design flaws in the flight control system, killing a total of 346 people.

Subsequently, the Boeing 737MAX passenger plane was grounded in many countries and regions around the world for nearly two years and did not resume flying until December 2020. Boeing's stock price has fallen by more than 40% since related models were grounded in March 2019.

The model of Alaska Airlines' accident was the 737MAX9, which is an extended version of the 737Max8.

It is worth mentioning that the 737 Max series is one of Boeing’s most popular models and its largest source of revenue. The accident has put the spotlight on Boeing's manufacturing defects just as it prepares to increase production of its "cash cow" models and reverse past quality defects.

For much of 2022, Boeing's best-selling 787 Dreamliner aircraft was halted by the FAA due to repeated production quality issues. MAX production was almost entirely halted last summer after it was discovered that holes for a new fuselage section had been drilled incorrectly. Not long ago, on December 28, the FAA issued a new directive unrelated to Friday night's incident, requiring airlines to check whether there are missing nuts in the rudder systems of newly produced MAX aircraft.

For Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun, the Alaska Airlines incident is another blow to his efforts to stabilize the company after five years of turmoil. Ironically, the accident occurred just days after he declared that "this is a crucial year for Boeing to turn a profit."