Loose parts on United and Alaska Airlines' 737 Max: new problems for Boeing
United Airlines and Alaska Airlines found loose parts on some grounded 737 Maxes
1' min read
1' min read
There is no peace for the Boeing 737 Max. After the accident - fortunately without casualties - which occurred on an Alaska Airlines last week, there is also less than encouraging news from United. United Airlines and Alaska Airlines found loose parts on a number of grounded 737 Max aircraft and threatened to widen the Seattle-based company's problems.
United said on Monday that inspections of its 737 Max 9, a variant of the single-aisle jet that contains more seats than the more popular Max 8, "found instances that appear to involve installation issues in the door plug, such as, bolts that needed additional tightening." The airline stated that its technical operations team would resolve the problem 'to return the aircraft to safe service'.
The news of United's discovery, first reported by the trade magazine The Air Current, further hit the shares of Boeing, whose shares closed on Monday down 8% to $229, while the shares of Spirit AeroSystems, its main supplier, lost 11% to close at $28.20.
Late Monday evening Alaska Airlines also chimed in: "Initial reports from our engineers indicate that loose hardware was visible on some aircraft."" The airline said it was waiting for final documentation from Boeing and the US Federal Aviation Administration to begin formal inspections.
