From Fortune Magazine:

Alaska Airlines recently decided to stop flying one of its planes to Hawaii due to warnings of cabin-pressurization system issues, raising concerns about the plane’s airworthiness. The plane had previously had warning lights triggered on three separate flights. It was subsequently grounded after suffering a terrifying fuselage blowout, but only after flying over land, not water. Both Alaska and United Airlines were affected by the subsequent FAA grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 9. The FAA also established new guidelines for inspecting and repairing the Max 9’s door plugs, potentially expediting the return to service for the grounded planes.

The main concern surrounding the Friday night flight was whether Alaska Airlines should have allowed the plane to keep flying after it had experienced pressurization warnings on three separate flights, including the day before the blowout. The NTSB is currently investigating the incident, while United Airlines reported finding loose bolts and other “installation issues” on its Max 9 planes. Boeing has pledged to assist in addressing any findings reported by the airlines during their inspections. Alan Diehl, a former crash investigator for both the NTSB and FAA, argued that Alaska should have grounded the plane, but other aviation experts saw nothing unusual in the airline’s decision to limit the plane’s over-water flights due to concerns about the pressurization warnings.

The blowout occurred just 13 minutes after Alaska Airlines flight 1282 took off from Portland, headed for Ontario, California. The missing door plug was found near Portland, along with parts of the plane’s damaged interior. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries to the 171 passengers and six crew members on board. The historic grounding of 171 out of 218 Max 9 planes in operation caused flight cancellations at both Alaska and United Airlines. This is not the first issue with the Max aircraft, which were previously grounded for nearly two years following two fatal crashes. With 64 other Max 9 planes in its fleet, Alaska Airlines is still awaiting permission from the NTSB to discuss the plane and its maintenance history.



Read more: Alaska Airlines faces scrutiny over its decision not to ground Boeing jet despite warning signs