Alaska Airlines will ground its entire fleet of Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft after a fuselage section in the rear part of the brand-new jet blew out shortly after takeoff.
The airline is taking the "precautionary step” to temporarily ground the fleet of 65 planes until completion of full maintenance and inspection, Chief Executive Officer Ben Minicucci said in a statement. Flight 1282 was carrying 171 passengers and six crew from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California. Nobody was injured in the incident.
China’s aviation regulator is conducting an emergency meeting to consider a response to the incident, including a possible grounding of the Boeing Max fleet in the country, according to two people familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. The aircraft variant involved in the Alaska Air incident isn’t flown by Chinese carriers.