Brazil suspends Boeing 737 MAX-9 flights after incident in the USA

The National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) reported the suspension of commercial flights with the Boeing 737 MAX-9 model in Brazil, 21 in total, after a flight operated by the company Alaska Airlines, which used the aforementioned model, made a crash landing. emergency at Portland International Airport, in the United States, last Friday (5). At the time, a depressurization caused an emergency landing after 15 minutes of flight.

A plug covering an emergency door came loose in flight. The 737 MAX is manufactured in several versions, and version 9 can carry up to 220 passengers at maximum density, which is why an extra door is installed by Boeing for evacuation cases. It turns out that in the United States, no company has chosen to use this configuration. Then, in place of the door, a plug was placed, and it was this that came loose in flight.

Alaska Airlines has taken all versions of the MAX-9 out of service for inspection. In Brazil, Copa Airlines, which operates direct flights from São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro to Panama with the model 9, also had its operations suspended. In the United States, all flights involving the same model have been suspended since the incident with the Alaska Airlines aircraft.

Boeing said it is working to gather more information and is in contact with airlines.

Version 8 of the 737 Max was involved in two serious accidents

On October 29, 2018, the accident of Lion Air Flight 610 began one of the worst crises in Boeing’s entire history and involved one of the versions of the 737 Max, but the Model 8. According to the investigation report, Software defects in the angle of attack sensor were mainly responsible for making the plane dive abruptly into the sea. The aircraft carried 181 passengers and eight crew on board, from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang, Indonesia.

Despite the severity of the accident, the 737 MAX around the world continued to be operational, with only one protective measure on the part of Boeing to review the angle of attack (AoA) sensor as a way to prevent possible problems with incorrect information being passed on to the airplane computer.

Five months later, another plane of the same model operated by Ethiopian Airlines, carrying 149 passengers and eight crew on a flight to Nairobi, Kenya, crashed six minutes after takeoff. The problems encountered were similar to those of the first accident.

For 20 months parked, the 737 MAX-8 model caused Boeing to accumulate US$20 billion in losses, in addition to lawsuits.