Alaska Airlines plane door detachment causes losses for Boeing (Reuters)

United Airlines has resumed using its Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft on passenger flights after US regulators gave it the green light, following an explosion in the cockpit during an Alaska Airlines flight earlier this month.

United stated that the first Max 9 flight since January 6 took off from Newark - yesterday, Saturday - heading to Las Vegas at approximately 10:30 local time (1530 GMT), carrying 175 passengers and a crew of 6 individuals.

The explosion of a cockpit panel on January 5 of this year on board a Max 9 aircraft that had entered service with Alaska Airlines eight weeks ago, prompted the US Federal Aviation Administration to prevent 171 Boeing aircraft of this model from flying, which led to the cancellation of Alaska Airlines. And United Airlines thousands of flights.

But last Wednesday, the administration lifted its ban on flights, after adopting new inspection and maintenance measures, and said that Boeing would not be able to expand the production of 737 MAX aircraft, or add new production lines to them, except after improving the quality.

The two companies were forced to cancel thousands of flights this month until safety checks were completed.

Boeing's stock lost 17.6% of its value to record $205.2 at the end of last week's trading, from $249 recorded on January 5, prior to the Alaska Airlines accident.

Thus, the company lost $26.6 billion of its market value, recording $124.6 billion at the end of trading last Friday.

Boeing will not be able to expand the production of 737 MAX aircraft (Al Jazeera)

Loose parts  

This month, United Airlines announced that it had found loose bolts on several Max 9 planes, raising new concerns among industry experts about how its best-selling plane was manufactured.

United Airlines, one of the two American airlines that use this model from Boeing, said that its inspections found loose screws in several panels.

A source told Reuters that United found nearly 10 planes with loose screws, and that the number could rise.

Endorsement

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun acknowledged the company's wrongdoing regarding the mid-air explosion of an Alaska Airlines plane, and told employees that the company would work with regulators to ensure "this does not happen again."

Calhoun's statements, on January 10, were Boeing's first public admission of error since the accident.

Informed sources stated that Boeing informed employees in a separate meeting that finding a number of loose screws on aircraft would be treated as a “quality control issue,” and indicated at the time that an examination was underway at Boeing and the supplier, Spirit Aerosystems.

In an effort to contain the losses resulting from the accident, Boeing appointed an independent consultant to monitor quality in its manufacturing operations.

In a related context, last week, the US Federal Aviation Administration recommended that airlines operating Boeing 737-900ER aircraft inspect door bolts to ensure their safety, after some companies reported unspecified problems with them during inspections.

The 737-900ER is more widely used than the older 737 MAX 9, but has the same optional exit door design used by airlines adding more seats.

Source: Al Jazeera + Reuters