United Airlines finds loose bolts on multiple Boeing 737 Max 9 planes | Air transport – MyCyberBase

United Airlines has found loose bolts and other “installation issues” on multiple 737 Max 9 aircraft, it said on Monday, referring to the Boeing model that has been grounded after a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines-operated plane mid-flight over the weekend.

The industry publication Air Current reported that United found discrepant bolts on other parts on at least five panels that were being inspected following the accident. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing declined to comment.

“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. These findings will be remedied by our Tech Ops team to safely return the aircraft to service,” United said in a statement.

A cabin panel on a brand-new Alaska Airlines 737 Max blew out on Friday at 16,000ft, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing shortly after its takeoff from Portland, Oregon. No serious injuries were reported. A chunk of the fuselage – weighing 63lb (28.5kg) – was later found in an Oregon teacher’s backyard.

On Monday evening, Alaska Airlines released a statement indicating that maintenance technicians had found issues when inspecting their 737 Max 9 fleet. “Initial reports from our technicians indicate some loose hardware was visible on some aircraft,” the statement said.

The Boeing jetliner that suffered the inflight blowout was not being used for flights to Hawaii after a warning light that could have indicated a pressurization problem lit up on three different flights.

Boeing and US regulators gave the go-ahead on Monday for airlines to inspect grounded jets. The inspections of 171 Max planes mostly operated by US carriers Alaska and United Airlines may take several days, forcing the cancellation of numerous flights.

Boeing said it was staying in close contact with Max 9 operators and would help customers address any findings during inspections.

“We are committed to ensuring every Boeing airplane meets design specifications and the highest safety and quality standards,” the planemaker said. “We regret the impact this has had on our customers and their passengers.”

Boeing shares sank 8% on Monday as the company reckons with the aftermath of the surprising panel emergency. It was the latest setback for Boeing following a series of production delays that have hampered its recovery from a lengthy 737 Max safety grounding in 2019.

The FAA ordered the temporary grounding for checks of 171 Max 9 jets installed with the 60lb (27kg) panel that detached from a full Alaska Airlines flight.

The Boeing CEO, Dave Calhoun, called a company-wide webcast to talk about the incident with employees and senior leadership for Tuesday.

“When serious accidents like this occur, it is critical for us to work transparently with our customers and regulators to understand and address the causes of the event, and to ensure they don’t happen again,” Calhoun wrote in a message to employees on Sunday. “This is and must be the focus of our team right now.”

Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report