(CMR) United Airlines said it found loose bolts on the door plugs on several of its grounded 737 Max 9 planes days after a door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines plane.
Alaska and United are the only two U.S. passenger airlines that use Max 9 aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all 737 Max 9s on Saturday after the incident.
On Monday, Alaska Airlines said initial inspections of its 737 MAX 9 fleet revealed “some loose hardware” visible on some aircraft.
“Any findings will be fully addressed in a matter that satisfies our safety standards and FAA compliance,” Alaska Airlines said.
“The safety of these aircraft is our priority, and we will take the time and steps necessary to ensure their airworthiness in close partnership with the FAA,” the airline added.
“Since we began preliminary inspections on Saturday, we have found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug — for example, bolts that needed additional tightening. These findings will be remedied by our Tech Ops team to safely return the aircraft to service,” United said in a statement.
United said that due to the emergency inspections, it had to cancel 200 Max 9 flights on Monday.
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