After being cleared by federal officials, the Boeing 737 Max 9 is set to return to the skies on Friday, three weeks after the planes were grounded when a panel blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced this week that the jets had been cleared to resume flying after they went through a round of inspections.
Alaska Airlines flight 1282 saw its door plug, which covers the deactivated emergency exit, come off midair, causing an uncontrolled decompression in the cabin nearly 20 minutes after takeoff.
Even scarier, the plane had been delivered to the airline just 66 days prior to the mid-flight emergency.
No one was injured in the incident, but federal agencies quickly began working to investigate the incident and ensure no other planes would see similar emergencies.
Now that the planes have been cleared, it’s up to each airline whether or not they will begin using them. Reuters reported that United Airlines, which has 79 of the Max 9 aircrafts, will put them back into rotation starting Sunday.
However, the FAA isn’t letting the manufacturer off easily.
“Let me be clear: This won’t be back to business as usual for Boeing,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said.
So, if you’re sitting in the window seat on your next flight and looking to triple-check your plane, here’s what to be on the prowl for.
The FAA’s Emergency Airworthiness Directive shared that several of the airlines found loose bolts on other planes, and in the case of Flight 1282, four bolts were missing altogether.
The airlines haven’t been kind to Boeing in the weeks since, with top executives for Alaska and United slamming the manufacturer.
“It makes me angry,” Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said while speaking with NBC News. “Flight 1282 should never have happened.”
While speaking with CNBC, United’s Scott Kirby said he was “disappointed” and could change the airline’s plans to order more of the airplanes.
Max 9 planes that haven’t gone through their inspection won’t go back into circulation until they are given the OK, though Alaska Airlines said it plans on being done next week.
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Boeing released a statement on the incident, saying that it will continue to cooperate with federal officials.
“We will continue to cooperate fully and transparently with the FAA and follow their direction as we take action to strengthen safety and quality at Boeing. We will also work closely with our airline customers as they complete the required inspection procedures to safely return their 737-9 airplanes to service,” the manufacturer wrote.
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