Which airlines use Boeing 737-9 MAX planes that lost a part mid-flight?

(CNN Spanish) — Hundreds of flights with Boeing’s 737-9 MAX aircraft have been canceled since Friday night, when one of that model lost part of its fuselage mid-flight and ended up with a hole the size of a refrigerator.

The incident happened on an Alaska Airlines plane, one of 11 airlines that have this particular model of aircraft, according to specialty site FlightRadar.

The 737-9 MAX in which the terrifying episode was recorded had a fuselage plug in the central cabin, a model characteristic found on the planes of the five airlines that use it. He was in service only since October.

The airline with the largest number of Boeing 737-9 MAX is United Airlines, with a total of 79 aircraft of this model. Alaska Airlines follows with 65 aircraft of this type.

Next on the list are two Latin American airlines: Copa Airlines, which has 29 737-9 MAXs, and Aeromexico, with 19. All Aeroméxico planes of that type have a fuselage plug in the center cabin, as does the Alaska Airlines plane involved in the incident. , while in case of Copa Airlines there are 21 which have this facility.

Below is a list of all airlines that have this aircraft model and the number of aircraft:

• United Airlines – 79
• Alaska Airlines – 65
• Copa Airlines – 29
• Aeromexico – 19
• Turkish Airlines – 5
• SCAT Airlines – 5
• Lion Air – 3
• Icelandair – 3
• Flydubai – 3
• Corandon Dutch Airlines – 2
• Air Tanzania – 1

It is a different model than the 737 MAX, which was blamed for two crashes years ago that killed nearly 350 people. One of the accidents occurred in Indonesia in October 2018 and the other in Ethiopia in March 2019. Those planes, Boeing’s best sellers, were grounded for 20 months after the crashes.

flight cancelled

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) forced the grounding of all 737 MAX 9 aircraft after Friday’s emergency landing. The agency said the provision would affect a total of 171 aircraft worldwide, which must be inspected to ensure safety and be able to fly again.

Aeromexico and Copa Airlines quickly confirmed that, in accordance with the provision, they would keep their 737 MAX 9 planes on the ground.

Brazilian aviation authorities for their part announced that they will temporarily suspend the operation of Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft over their airspace, as confirmed by CNN Brazil. Copa Airlines is the only company operating this type of aircraft in Brazilian airspace.

Thousands of passengers are affected by the FAA’s directive. Alaska Airlines and United Airlines had to cancel more than 300 flights on Monday alone.

The cause of this incident is not yet known. National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendi told CNN that the plane’s automatic pressurization fault light had come on three times in the past month, but it was unclear if the fault light was related to Friday’s incident.

This Monday, Boeing’s supplier that makes the fuselage for its 737 MAX planes made its first public comments since the Alaska Airlines plane incident. Without answering additional questions, he said the company is focused on “the quality and product integrity of the airframes we deliver.”

With information from Jordan Walinski, Chris Isidore, Federico Joffre and Fidel Gutierrez.