Alaska Airlines

In February last year, a new Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 Max plane was on one of its first flights when an automated stabilizing system appeared to malfunction, forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing soon after they took off.

Boeing announced Monday a leadership shakeup headlined by the departure of CEO Dave Calhoun as the aviation giant faces heavy scrutiny following safety incidents and manufacturing issues.

Besides Calhoun, who will stay in his post through the end of 2024, Boeing announced two other major changes to company management.

Boeing came under renewed pressure on Jan. 23 as the head of Alaska Airlines said inspections carried out after a dangerous incident had found many loose bolts on its 737 MAX 9 aircraft.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has recommended that airlines inspect door plugs on Boeing 737-900ER jets after a blowout on another type of aircraft with a similar mid-cabin exit earlier this month.

Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun took responsibility on Tuesday for a near-catastrophic Alaska Airlines incident last week, vowing "complete transparency" as the aviation giant tries to pivot from its latest crisis.

United and Alaska Airlines both reported on Jan. 8 that loose hardware had been discovered on some of their Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes during preliminary inspections after a dramatic mid-flight incident last week.

United and Alaska Airlines both reported on Monday that loose hardware had been discovered on some of their Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes during preliminary inspections after a dramatic mid-flight incident last week.

A mid-air emergency in which a piece of fuselage came off a Boeing 737 MAX 9 jetliner as it flew over the U.S. west coast dealt a new blow to the oft-beleaguered manufacturer.

However, the consequences for Boeing are expected to be limited.

On Saturday the Federal Aviation Administration ordered the grounding of 171 planes of that model so they can be inspected.

The U.S. air safety regulator said Saturday that it was grounding some Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets pending inspections, a day after a panel blew out of one of the planes over the western state of Oregon.

The Federal Aviation Administration "is requiring immediate inspections of certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes before they can return to flight," the agency said on X.

Overview of the site of the 2021 Alaska Airbus AS350 B3 helicopter crash from the NTSB preliminary report. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.