Boeing’s mid-air door blowout: Amid grounded flights and cancellations, design flaw ruled out

United States aviation investigators tried to inspect the Boeing jets in Oregon on Sunday (Jan 7) and find out what led a new Boeing passenger jet’s door panel to blowout minutes after takeoff.

The door, after it blew out, created a hole “the size of a refrigerator” on one side of the plane and forced the pilots to make an emergency landing.

After the incident, the American jet maker has been facing fresh scrutiny and the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft has been temporarily grounded by the regulators.

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The door was detached from the flight when it was 16,000ft (4,877 meters) above Portland, Oregon on Friday (Jan 5). The plane had 171 passengers and six crew on board.

The plane, which was weeks old, was modified and needed just fewer exits since it had fewer seats. However, investigators – who solicited the help of the public in finding the missing door of Alaska Airlines - said that initial findings did not suggest a major flaw in the Boeing Max 9 aircraft.

“We’ll look at the pressurisation system, we’ll look at the door, the hinges,” said Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), at a press conference. “Do we suspect that there is an overall design problem with this plane based on previous accidents involving Boeing Max? At this time, no," she added.

600 flights ofAlaska Airlines and United Airlines cancelled

Thousands of passengers on Sunday, especially in the United States, faced flight cancellations which are likely to continue into next week as the airlines called in inspectors, in compliance with the order issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Meanwhile, 600 flights ofAlaska Airlines and United Airlines were cancelled after Boeing 737 were grounded.

Alaska Airlines (ALK.N) said that 170 flights were cancelled on Sunday (Jan 7) and another 60 flights on Monday (Jan 8) after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gave orders to ground 171 Boeing (BA.N) 737 MAX 9 aeroplanes. The airline stated that the cancellations are likely to continue in the first half of the week. Nearly 25,000 passengers were affected in cancellations onSunday (Jan 7).

Boeing 737 Max 9 jets to stay grounded till found "safe": FAA

The US aviation regulator said that 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 jets are set to remain grounded till they are satisfied about the safety of the planes.

The jets are being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after the door fell off on Friday (Jan 5). The FAA said that its first priority was "keeping the flying public safe".

Speaking to the staff, Boeing's CEO Dave Calhoun said that its response "is and must be" the company's focus.

Watch:US grounds 171 Boeing planes after Alaska Airlines window blows out mid-air

"We have grounded the affected airplanes, and they will remain grounded until the FAA is satisfied that they are safe," said the FAA, in a statement on Sunday (Jan 7).

Boeing also added that an all-employee meeting will be held by the company regarding safety on Tuesday (Jan 9) in which the company's response to the incident will be addressed.

"When serious accidents like this occur, it is critical for us to work transparently with our customers and regulators to understand and address the causes of the event, and to ensure they don't happen again," said Calhoun.

(With inputs from agencies)