Alaska Airlines again grounded all of its Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners on Sunday after federal officials indicated further maintenance might be required to assure that another inflight blowout like the one that damaged one of its planes doesn’t happen again.
The airline had returned 18 of its 65 737 Max 9 aircraft to service on Saturday following inspections that came less than 24 hours after a portion of one plane’s fuselage blew out three miles above (4.8 kilometers) above Oregon on Friday night. The depressurized plane, which was carrying 171 passengers and six crew members, returned safely to Portland International Airport with no serious injuries.
