Turkish Airlines is grounding its five Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft. The Turkish airline reports this, two days after the incident with an Alaska Airlines plane. It had to make an emergency landing in Portland, America, because part of the fuselage had come loose. This caused a hole in the aircraft at an altitude of almost 5,000 meters. European airlines can continue flying with their Boeing aircraft, according to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
“Following the incident involving the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, five aircraft of this type from the Turkish Airlines fleet have been recalled as a precaution for investigation,” the Turkish airline’s website said. The aircraft are kept on the ground where they need to land at that moment. An inspection will follow before the flights are resumed.
It is estimated that it will take between four to eight hours by plane to complete the inspection. According to Boeing data, 218 examples of the 737 MAX 9 have been delivered so far.
Turkish Airlines has destinations in 120 countries, including Belgium. The flights from Brussels to Istanbul are operated with different aircraft, as a quick look at the website shows.
European companies
European airlines can continue flying with their Boeing aircraft, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said, after the American aviation authority FAA ordered the inspection of more than 170 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft worldwide . EASA has accepted the FAA’s call, but says airlines in member countries in Europe do not have aircraft with the same specifications.
This does not mean that there are no 737 MAX 9 aircraft flying around in Europe at all. Corendon has two in its fleet, a spokeswoman confirmed after reports from Hart van Nederland. However, according to her, those planes are built slightly differently. Manufacturer Boeing has also assured Corendon that grounding the aircraft is not necessary.
Major intervention after crashes
In the US, the American aviation authority FAA had already ordered the immediate inspection of some 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft worldwide, which are no longer allowed to fly until then. This concerns aircraft from American airlines or aircraft that fly in the US. Alaska Airlines itself had already decided to park the 65 aircraft in its own fleet on the tarmac. The American United Airlines is also not allowing all of its 79 aircraft of this type to depart for the time being. The Panamanian Copa Airlines is having 21 aircraft checked.
This is the largest intervention for a Boeing 737 MAX since aircraft of that type were banned from the airspace worldwide for a long time after two plane crashes. In 2018 and 2019, accidents involving 737 MAX aircraft killed a total of 346 people. Boeing then had to make technical adjustments. The issue cost the company many billions of dollars.
Montagefout
There were no casualties in Friday’s incident involving the Alaska Airlines passenger plane. The aircraft managed to return to Portland. An aviation expert told the Bloomberg news agency that it is probably not a fault in the design of the aircraft. According to former FAA investigator Jeff Guzzetti, it is more likely that something went wrong during assembly at the factory.
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LOOK. Plane makes emergency landing after window suddenly breaks: US authorities ground all Boeing 737 MAX 9
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2024-01-07 09:07:49
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