Following the Alaska Airlines incident, United Airlines suspends the use of its Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft after finding units with "loose bolts"
Currently all flights of this aircraft model are suspended.
(National Transportation Safety Board / AFP)
United Airlines announced the temporary suspension of its Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft models after finding units with "loose bolts."
The announcement comes days after a plane of the same model, but from Alaska Airlines, suffered a mid-flight incident after one of the window exits exploded.
“Since we began preliminary inspections on Saturday, we have found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug – for example, bolts that needed additional tightening,” United explained to Fox Business in a statement. “These findings will be remedied by our Tech Ops team to safely return the aircraft to service.”
The airline, in addition to suspending the Boeing 737 MAX 9, also said the airline's 200 MAX 9 flights will be canceled.
The Boeing 737 MAX 9 is an aircraft model that is frequently used on domestic flights and went into service in May 2017.
Currently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft to be taken out of the sky while they monitor their status after the Alaska Airlines plane incident.
Alaska and United are the only US airlines that operate with this model.
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