Aviation safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday directed Akasa Air, Air India Express, and SpiceJet to conduct a “one-time inspection” of emergency exits on all Boeing 737 MAX-8 aircraft in their fleet by Sunday noon as an “abundant precautionary measure” following an incident involving an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX-9 in the United States (US). At present, over 40 Boeing 737 MAX-8 planes are in operation across these three carriers in India, while there are no 737 MAX-9 aircraft in the fleet of any Indian airline.
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“Pursuant to the Alaska Airlines incident involving Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft, there have been no inputs/guidance from Boeing so far. None of the Indian air operators have Boeing 737-9 MAX as part of their fleet yet. However, as an abundant precautionary measure, DGCA has directed all the Indian air operators to carry out a one-time inspection of the emergency exits immediately on all Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft currently operating as part of their fleet,” a top DGCA official said. The DGCA asked for the inspections to be held during the aircraft’s night halts so that flight schedules are not affected.
The carriers said that they are in touch with Boeing to get more information on the Alaska Airlines incident. They said that they will comply with the DGCA’s directive on the one-time inspection of emergency exits.
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On Friday, an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX-9 plane operating a flight between Portland and Ontario (in California) made an emergency landing soon after take-off after a mid-air window blowout that led to a section of the fuselage also breaking away, causing decompression in the cabin. All the 171 passengers and six crew on board the aircraft returned safely. Following the incident, Alaska Airlines has temporarily grounded all of its 737 MAX-9 planes.
#BREAKING: Alaska Airlines Forced to Make an Emergency Landing After Large Aircraft Window Blows Out Mid-Air ⁰⁰ #Portland | #Oregon
⁰A Forced emergency landing was made of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 at Portland International Airport on Friday night. The flight, traveling… pic.twitter.com/nt0FwmPALE
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) January 6, 2024
On Saturday, the American aviation regulator Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that it will order temporary grounding of certain 737 MAX-9 aircraft operated by US airlines or in US territory, and they will be allowed to take to the skies again only after being inspected by operators. The inspection is likely to take four to eight hours per plane. This decision is expected to affect 171 aircraft.
“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,” Ben Minicucci, chief executive officer of Alaska Airlines, said in a statement after the incident.
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“We are working with Boeing and regulators to understand what occurred tonight, and will share updates as more information is available. The NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board of the US) is investigating this event and we will fully support their investigation,” Minicucci said.
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In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Boeing said, “We are aware of the incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight #AS1282. We are working to gather more information and are in contact with our airline customer. A Boeing technical team stands ready to support the investigation”. The incident comes a few days after Boeing asked 737 MAX operators to carry out inspections after a loose bolt was found in the rudder control system of one of the planes. Rudders are vertical flight control surfaces on the tail of the aircraft and are primarily used to change the airplane’s yaw, or vertical axis rotation.
“We are aware of the recent incident involving a Boeing aircraft of Alaska Air. The aircraft involved is a different variant from the B737-8 operated by Air India Express. We are in touch with Boeing for more information regarding this, as well with our regulators and will comply with any advisory,” an Air India Express spokesperson said.
An Akasa Air spokesperson said, “Even though the incident has occurred with another airline in the USA, we are in contact with the aircraft manufacturer and regulators to proactively monitor developments and will follow any guidance issued by them. We confirm that, at present, Akasa Air does not have any 737 Max-9 aircraft in its fleet which was the aircraft type involved in the incident”.