Alaska Air says loose hardware found on some of its 737 MAX 9 fleet By Reuters

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The fuselage plug space of Alaska Airways Flight 1282 Boeing 737-9 MAX, which was compelled to make an emergency touchdown with a spot within the fuselage, is seen throughout its investigation by the Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB) in Portland,

(Reuters) – Alaska Air (NYSE:) mentioned on Monday its technicians discovered some unfastened {hardware} within the door plug space on a few of its Boeing (NYSE:) 737 MAX 9 fleet.

U.S. regulators grounded 171 MAX 9 planes after a door plug panel blew off an Alaska Airways-operated flight not lengthy after taking off from a Portland, Oregon, airport on Friday, forcing pilots to scramble to land the airplane safely.

“As our upkeep technicians started getting ready our 737-9 MAX fleet for inspections, they accessed the realm in query,” Alaska Air mentioned, referring to the door plug panel space.

“Preliminary studies from our technicians point out some unfastened {hardware} was seen on some plane.”

Earlier within the day, United Airways mentioned it had discovered unfastened bolts on a number of grounded MAX 9 plane, elevating new issues amongst trade specialists about how its best-selling jet household is manufactured.