SPOKANE, Wash. – Alaska Airlines is conducting inspections of its entire Boeing 737-9 fleet after a section of one plane blew out mid-flight on Friday.
On Jan. 5, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 was heading from Portland to Ontario when, just 25 minutes into the flight, a panel from a side of the plane body separated. The flight made an emergency landing where passengers reported a child had to be held down. No one was seriously injured in this incident, according to AP News.
The Federal Aviation Association (FAA) ordered all Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners to be grounded until fully inspected. Alaska Airlines confirmed 18 aircrafts went through ‘in-depth and thorough’ inspections and have been cleared to return to service.
“The inspection process of the remaining 737-9 aircraft is expected to be completed in the next few days. We will provide additional updates on the progress of our inspections,” Alaska said in a statement.
NonStop Local reached out to the communications director at Spokane International to see how the FAA’s grounding decision could affect flights in and out of the airport. We are still waiting to hear back.
According to the Spokane International Airport’s website, there were two short delays and no cancellations.
“We deeply apologize to our guests whose flights have been impacted,” said Alaska Airlines. “Guests with impacted travel can go online to view flight options and rebook travel, place the value of their ticket in their Mileage Plan Wallet for future use, or request a refund.”
