The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded 171 planes after the crash. United Airlines and Alaska Airlines plan to begin returning planes to service in the next few days.
But the FAA says it still will not allow Boeing to expand production of its best-selling narrow-body planes, which include the 737 Max 9. An FAA representative said it could not be a return to normal operations for Boeing, adding that will not accept any of Boeing’s requests to expand production or approve additional production lines for the 737 Max until it is confident that quality control problems discovered during the process have been resolved.
Alaska Airlines and United Airlines had to cancel thousands of flights due to inspections following the crash.
The former said it plans to return the first planes to service on Friday, with more planes added each day as inspections are completed.
There is no doubt that the plane was defective from the beginning
On January 5, an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 suffered a broken door cap shortly after takeoff, forcing the plane to make an emergency return to Portland Airport.
Executives at Alaska Airlines and United Airlines expressed frustration with Boeing over the grounding of the 737 Max 9, which caused major disruptions to their services.
In an interview with NBC News, Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said there was “no question” about the plane “coming off the production line with a defective door.” He said a post-crash inspection found “many” loose bolts on the planes.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby also told CNBC that they are working on a plan that does not include the Boeing Max 10. A United representative also said earlier this week that they expect to take a financial loss from grounding of the aircraft.
Boeing CEO David Calhoun faced lawmakers in Washington on Wednesday to explain what led to the plane crash. The latest crash raises new questions about the safety of Boeing planes. The company has come under intense scrutiny after two deadly crashes of 737 Max 8 airliners in 2018 and 2019, which killed 346 people.
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2024-01-25 11:30:00
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