United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) and Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) have each reported loose bolts on Boeing 737 Max 9 planes in inspections in the wake of a panel blowing out of an Alaska Airlines flight last week.
After the Federal Aviation Administration ordered the grounding of Max 9 aircraft, Alaska Airlines said Monday that initial inspections discovered “loose hardware,” adding that: “No aircraft will be returned to service” until formal reviews are complete.
“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 company said in a statement.
Alaska Airlines operates 65 Max 9 planes and United has 79.
“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,” United said in a statement.
The Alaska Airlines incident resulted in no casualties or serious injuries but a panel was blown out and headrests and seatback were ripped out of the plane along with it, according to reports. No passengers were seated in the two seats immediately next to the panel.
Boeing shares plunged more than 8% on Monday and are down another 1.6% Tuesday morning.