© Reuters. A United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane is grounded as passengers try to rebook their tickets for canceled United Airlines flights after US air safety regulator the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) , grounded 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft for
By David Shepardson
(Reuters) – United Airlines said it had resumed using its Boeing (NYSE:) 737 MAX 9 planes on Saturday for passenger flights after U.S. regulators gave the green light following an explosion in the cabin of an Alaska Airlines flight. earlier this month.
United said the first MAX 9 flight with passengers on board since Jan. 6 departed Newark bound for Las Vegas around 10:30 a.m. ET (1530 GMT) with 175 passengers and six crew members. The Chicago-based airline expects some passenger flights to operate on MAX 9 on Saturday.
The Jan. 5 cockpit panel explosion on an eight-week-old MAX 9 operated by Alaska Airlines led the Federal Aviation Administration to ground 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, resulting in the cancellation of thousands of flights. by Alaska Airlines and Unidos.
On Wednesday, the FAA lifted its grounding order by approving new inspections and maintenance checks and said Boeing could not expand 737 MAX production or add new 737 production lines pending quality improvements.
The 737 MAX 9 enhanced maintenance process requires inspection of specific bolts, guides and hardware along with detailed visual inspections of mid-cabin exit door plugs and dozens of related components.
Alaska Airlines resumed MAX 9 service on Friday. CBS News reported that the airline's chief operating officer, Constance von Muehlen, was on the first flight of the MAX 9 and was sitting by the window in the same row where the explosion occurred on the previous flight.
Alaska Airlines said Friday that it expects inspections of its MAX 9 to be completed by the end of next week, allowing the airline to operate its full flight schedule. The grounding affected around 20% of its fleet.
Boeing Commercial Airlines President Stan Deal told employees Friday night that the company had “worked diligently” to create inspection criteria that would allow the planes to return to service, and Boeing is now in the process to evaluate “hundreds” of ideas submitted by employees for quality improvements.
