Five flights canceled in and out of Palm Springs due to Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft issues
Five Alaska Airlines flights in and out of Palm Springs have been canceled on Thursday following the temporary grounding of Boeing 737 Max 9 aircrafts throughout the airline industry. There were five flights canceled in and out of Palm Springs International Airport on Wednesday and Tuesday.
All Boeing 737 Max 9 planes have been grounded pending inspections and any necessary repairs involving potentially loose door bolts after an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland to Ontario International Airport experienced a door blowout during flight Friday. The 737 Max family of jets has had a checkered history, and the Max 8 was grounded in 2019 following two deadly crashes within months.
The canceled flights at Palm Springs International were to or from New York’s JFK International Airport, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle airports and posted on the Alaska Airlines website. The airport recommends calling ahead or checking online for updates on the status of flights on Alaska Airlines on Thursday.
Here’s what Boeing’s CEO told his employees about the Alaska Airlines 1282 incident
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun says Friday’s Alaska Airlines incident involving a Boeing 737 Max 9’s door separating from the plane mid-air “shook me to the bone.”
“I didn’t know what happened to whoever was supposed to be in the seat next to that hole in the airplane,” Calhoun said during a town hall with Boeing employees that was shared, in part, on the company’s website. “I got kids. I got grandkids, and so do you. This stuff matters. Everything matters.”
The cause of the incident remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, but Calhoun accepted responsibility on behalf of Boeing.
“We’re going to approach this, number one, acknowledging our mistake,” he told employees, noting that he was preaching to the choir. “We’re going to approach it with 100% and complete transparency every step of the way.”
He pledged to work closely with the NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration, who he said will help “ensure every next plane that moves into the sky is in fact safe and that this event can never happen again.”
Calhoun acknowledged Boeing’s customers are anxious after this latest incident, but said customers continue to have confidence in the aircraft manufacturer.
“(Customers) do (have confidence) and they will again, but we’re going to have to demonstrate it by our actions, our willingness to work directly and transparently with them and to make sure they understand that every airplane that Boeing has its name on that’s in the sky is in fact safe and we will see our way through to that,” he said.
No one was seriously injured in Friday’s incident on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, thanks largely to the quick actions of the pilots and crew on board, according to Calhoun.
Contributing: USA TODAY reporter Eve Chen.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft: Five flights canceled in and out of PSP due to grounding
