Alaska Airlines 737 MAX cabin control panel explodes

Boeing (NYSE: BA ) faced a new challenge on Friday when an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 flight was forced to make an emergency landing after a cabin panel ruptured. The incident prompted U.S. regulators to temporarily ground some 737 MAX aircraft for safety inspections. The legal action, while significant, is on par with the global grounding of the MAX family of jets after two fatal crashes in the past five years.

Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft has experienced a series of malfunctions over the past few years. In October 2018, a Lion Air MAX plane crashed in Indonesia, killing 189 people. The following month, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing began evaluating the need for changes to the aircraft’s software or design. In March 2019, another tragedy occurred when an Ethiopian Airlines MAX flight crashed, killing all 157 people on board. That led to a global grounding of the MAX, initiated by China’s aviation regulator and later followed by others including the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

In April 2019, the FAA established a team to conduct a safety review of the 737 MAX, and Boeing reduced monthly production by nearly 20%. By July, Boeing reported its largest quarterly loss ever. To strengthen its commitment to safety, Boeing’s Board of Directors established a Standing Safety Committee in September 2019. The following month, the company fired Kevin McAllister, the head of its commercial aircraft division. In December 2020, CEO Dennis Muilenburg was fired due to two incidents.

The start of 2020 resulted in the grounding of 737 production, Boeing’s most important assembly line in more than two decades. Production resumed at a slower pace in May, and in June Boeing began long-delayed test flights of the redesigned MAX. A U.S. House of Representatives committee concluded an 18-month investigation in September 2020, finding flaws in Boeing MAX design and development and oversight by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The FAA lifted the grounding order in November 2020, allowing the MAX to return to the skies. Then, in December, Congress passed legislation reforming the FAA’s aircraft certification process. The European Union (EU) Aviation Safety Agency has approved the MAX to resume operations in Europe in January 2021. However, in March, China still insisted that significant safety issues had to be resolved before the MAX could be tested in the country.

In April 2021, 737 MAX deliveries were halted due to electrical issues. By November, Boeing had reached a $237.5 million settlement with shareholders over safety oversight lawsuits. These challenges continued into October 2022, when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) notified Boeing of incomplete and substandard certification review documents for the 737 MAX 7. In December, Congress extended a deadline for modern cockpit warning standards, a move that Boeing lobbied hard for.

In April 2023, Boeing suspended approximately 737 MAX deliveries to address supplier quality issues related to non-compliant parts. The first deliveries of the 737 MAX 7 were subsequently postponed to July 2024. New quality issues related to improper drilling were discovered in August, and by September, 737 MAX deliveries fell to their lowest level since August 2021.

The latest incident on an Alaska Airlines flight has exacerbated Boeing’s ongoing 737 MAX crisis. The FAA’s decision to ground some MAX 9 aircraft for safety inspections reflects an ongoing review of the aircraft’s reliability and safety standards. Boeing’s first direct delivery of 787 Dreamliners to China since 2019 (in December 2023) is considered a step toward China potentially lifting its 737 MAX delivery freeze. Still, the latest emergency landing highlights the ongoing challenges facing Boeing’s MAX fleet.

Reuters contributed to this article.

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