From Fortune:

The FAA has ordered the temporary grounding and inspections of some Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft after a section of a brand-new Alaska Airways jet blew out after takeoff. This affects about 171 planes worldwide. Alaska, the world’s second biggest operator of the type, already grounded its Max 9 fleet. Officials are investigating.

Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 experienced a pressurization issue and the rear left part of the fuselage blew out, leaving a hole like a door opening. Images on social media showed that part of the cabin wall had also torn off, exposing insulation material. After the incident, aviation regulators in China are considering a response.

China was the first country to ground the 737 Max after two deadly crashes years ago. Boeing said it’s gathering more information. The 737 Max has modular fuselage layouts which gives operators flexibility with the cabin configuration. Alaska Airlines had scheduled more than 5,000 flights with the Max 9 in January, according to aviation data provider Cirium.

The temporary grounding, which will impact tens of thousands of customers with canceled flights, involves almost 30% of the Alaska Air’s 227 Boeing 737 family aircraft. Inspections are expected to be completed in the next few days.
The jet didn’t appear to have suffered the type of powerful decompression that occurred on a Southwest Airlines Co. plane in 2018 when part of an exploding engine shattered a window of the Boeing 737-700, partly sucking a woman seated next to it from the plane and killing her. Video footage showed the aircraft landing in Portland again in darkness, with passengers seated close to the gaping hole. Nobody was seriously injured.



Read more: FAA orders temporary grounding of some 737 Max jets