Alaska Airlines releases Information about Boeing 737-9 MAX Incident

Alaska Airlines has initiated preliminary inspections on a selection of its Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft, in response to new requirements set by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). These inspections come in light of the FAA's demand for additional data from Boeing, pertaining to the manufacturer’s proposed inspection and maintenance guidelines. The guidelines are intended for final inspections of the entire 737-9 MAX fleet, to ensure their safe return to service. Alaska Airlines could inspect up to 20 of its airplanes under this initiative.

The recent incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 has intensified the focus on aviation safety, emphasizing the necessity for continuous enhancement of safety measures. This incident has been attributed to a "quality escape" by Boeing, prompting a frank discussion between Alaska Airlines and Boeing's top executives about improving quality assurance in aircraft production.

Boeing, along with its fuselage supplier Spirit AeroSystems, is under scrutiny by the FAA. The agency has announced a comprehensive audit and review of all safety procedures in the production of the 737-9 MAX aircraft. This step is seen as a significant move to bolster safety standards in aircraft manufacturing.

Alaska Airlines is taking additional measures to reinforce quality control. The airline's quality and audit team is conducting an extensive review of Boeing’s production quality and control systems. This includes scrutinizing Boeing's oversight of production vendors. Alaska Airlines is also enhancing its own quality control procedures over the aircraft during production. Starting this week, the airline will expand its team with additional experienced professionals to ensure the validation of work and quality on the Boeing 737 production line.

Ben Minicucci, CEO released the following statement on the incident:

At Alaska Airlines, safety is our foundational value and the most important thing we focus on every day. Following tonight’s event on Flight 1282, we have decided to take the precautionary step of temporarily grounding our fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft. Each aircraft will be returned to service only after completion of full maintenance and safety inspections. We anticipate all inspections will be completed in the next few days.

I am personally committed to doing everything we can to conduct this review in a timely and transparent way.

We are working with Boeing and regulators to understand what occurred tonight, and will share updates as more information is available. The NTSB is investigating this event and we will fully support their investigation.  

My heart goes out to those who were on this flight – I am so sorry for what you experienced. I am so grateful for the response of our pilots and flight attendants. We have teams on the ground in Portland assisting passengers and are working to support guests who are traveling in the days ahead.