US officials declare Boeing jets won’t fly until safety ensured

• Pete Buttigieg emphasizes the need for 100% safety assurance.
• Boeing’s CEO acknowledges a “quality escape” indicating a failure in quality control.
• United Airlines, another US 737 MAX 9 operator, has 79 of its fleet out of action.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg emphasized that the authorities must ensure a 100% safety assurance for the suspended Boeing 737 Max 9 planes before they allow them to fly again, following a recent incident on an Alaska Airlines flight.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun acknowledged a “quality escape,” indicating a failure in quality control for the plane, which had been in service for only eight weeks before the blowout. Calhoun expressed the need to address breakdowns in inspections and original work that allowed the incident to occur.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded 171 Boeing jets with the same door plug, a piece of fuselage, following the incident.

Mr Buttigieg declined to say when the suspension will end. “The only consideration on the timeline is safety,” he said. “Until it is ready, it is not ready. Nobody can or should be rushed in that process.”

After the grounding of 65 of its Max 9s, Alaska Airlines has canceled approximately 20% of its flights. United Airlines, the other US 737 MAX 9 operator, has 79 of the planes in its fleet out of action.

United Airlines anticipates “significant” cancellations on Thursday following the non-execution of 167 flights on Wednesday.

Alaska Airlines has stated that it awaits revised inspection and maintenance instructions from Boeing, which must receive approval from the FAA before the planes can resume operations.

“The airline will only return these aircraft to service when it fully resolves all findings and meets all FAA and Alaska’s stringent standards,” the airline stated.

On Monday, both Alaska and United Airlines reported discovering loose parts on several of the grounded aircraft.

During inspections of the door plug that detached from the Alaska Airlines plane, United Airlines identified bolts requiring “additional tightening.”

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