The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says it has increased its oversight of Boeing production in the aftermath of a Jan. 5 accident in which a passenger door plug separated from an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 shortly after takeoff from Portland (Oregon, U.S.) International Airport, causing a rapid decompression.
The pilots returned to the airport for an emergency landing, and the plug was later found in a backyard in suburban Portland. None of the 177 people in the airplane was injured.
The following day, the FAA grounded 171 737-9 MAX airplanes. The FAA has since said that the timeline for returning the airplanes to service will be determined by “the safety of the flying public.”
After the FAA’s Jan. 12 announcement of increased oversight, Boeing said it would “cooperate fully and transparently with our regulator. We support all actions that strengthen quality and safety, and we are taking actions across our production system.”
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