What Is the Boeing 737 MAX 9 Jet— and What Went Wrong With the Alaska Plane’s Door

What Happened to Alaska’s 737 MAX 9 Jet?

On Friday, Jan. 5, Alaska Airlines flight 1282 from Portland, Ore., to Ontario, Calif., made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport shortly after takeoff. The aircraft, a Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet, lost part of its fuselage, the main body of the airplane, leaving a hole.

The lost part was a door plug installed on the aircraft to cover up an emergency door that was no longer needed. That door plug was recovered on Monday. The plug was held in place by hinges and 12 stops around the door.

Several guests onboard experienced injuries that required medical attention, Alaska said, adding that all guests have now been medically cleared. 

Alaska has 65 MAX 9 jets, accounting for about 21% of its 314 jets.

The emergency door plug was there because of the aircraft seating configuration. Planes are required to have a certain number of exits per seat. “However, some airlines such as Alaska configure their aircraft with fewer seats for passenger comfort and do not need extra doors,” wrote Melius Research analyst Robert Spingarn in a Sunday report. For this relatively small group of customers, Spingarn noted that it is more cost-efficient for airlines to plug the door rather than build a fuselage without the extra doors.

That’s why only some MAX jets were grounded. The models with plugged doors—nicknamed MAX dash-nine—began flying in 2015 and haven’t experienced this issue before, according to Citi analyst Jason Gursky. Door plugs have been used on 737 jets since the 1990s, he added in a Sunday report.

The MAX 9 entered service in 2018 but was tested before that. The aircraft involved in the incident on Friday was delivered in late 2023.

Boeing said it agrees with the FAA’s decision to ground 737 MAX 9 jets with the same configuration as the Alaska Air jet.

What Are Airlines Doing?

Alaska and other operators of MAX 9 jets are inspecting the grounded aircraft. Inspections can take hours per plane.

United Airlines
said Monday in an emailed statement it found four instances “that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug—for example, bolts that needed additional tightening,” adding “these findings will be remedied by our Tech Ops team to safely return the aircraft to service.”

The FAA will give the final approval after inspections and remedies have been completed. United has 79 MAX 9 jets in its fleet.

Is This the Same Model as the Boeing Jets That Crashed Years Ago?

No, In 2018 and 2019, Boeing’s MAX 8 jets were grounded after two fatal crashes. The crashes were tied to new flight control software called MCAS, or Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation, a far more difficult problem to solve than a potential manufacturing issue. MCAS is active on all MAX jets.

All MAX jets were allowed to return to service in November 2020 after being recertified by global aviation authorities. The MAX 8 is MAX version with the most planes in service. The jet itself is just under 130 feet long and typically holds 210 passengers.

The MAX 9 is one of the variants of the MAX. The MAX 9 is just over 138 feet long and holds about 220 passengers. Boeing intends to offer a MAX 7 and MAX 10 too. The 7 is about 117 feet long and typically seats about 170 passengers. The 10 is about 144 feet long and seats roughly 230 passengers.

The wingspan of all the MAX jets is about 118 feet and the
General Electric
–
Safran
engine joint venture, CFM, supplies the LEAP 1B engines for all MAX jets.

The MAX 7 and the MAX 10 haven’t started shipping to customers yet. The MAX 9 started shipping in 2018 about a year after the MAX 8 was delivered in May 2017.

About 1,400 MAX jets have been delivered, and Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu estimates that about 220 have been MAX 9 versions.

That is the good news, to the extent there is good news. The MAX 9 is a lower-volume model and the door-plug versions are even less common.

Other issues have affected Boeing 737 MAX jets. In August, a Boeing subcontractor, Spirit AeroSystems, disclosed a quality issue involving the fuselages it manufactures for the 737 MAX, and in late December, the FAA said that Boeing had asked carriers to inspect all 737 MAX aircraft for loose bolts.

Who Made the Emergency Door Plug?

Spirit AeroSystems is the supplier of the “emergency door plug” that failed. Boeing accounts for about 60% of Spirit’s total sales, which is why that stock is getting hit so hard on Monday.

“Our primary focus is the quality and product integrity of the aircraft structures we deliver,” Spirit said in an emailed statement. “Spirit is a committed partner with Boeing on the 737 program, and we continue to work together with them on this matter.”

Spirit priced an initial public offering in November 2006 at $26 per share. It has been tough for investors, as Spirit Aero stock is just above $28 some 17 years later.

Spirit shares were almost $100 a share before the second 737 MAX crash in March 2019 that led to the worldwide grounding of the jet. The grounding wasn’t tied to any manufacturing issue, instead, it was a design problem with internally developed new flight control software.

Spirit has used almost $2 billion over the past four years working through issues related to the grounding. A lot fewer MAX jets were delivered than originally expected. The fallout has led to management changes as well as Boeing restructuring some financial agreements with the supplier.

Spirit was once part of Boeing. The jet maker sold the division to private equity company Onex in 2005. Spirit then made some acquisitions to diversify its revenue away from only Boeing. While Boeing remains the biggest customer today, roughly 20% of Spirit’s sales come from
Airbus
with the remaining 20% coming from others.

What Did The Stocks Do?

Spirit Aero shares dropped 11.1%, to $28.20, in Monday trading while the
S&P 500
rose 1.4%. Boeing shares dropped 8%, closing at $229 apiece. Alaska stock clawed back early losses and closed down 0.2% at $37.87.

Other stocks appeared to be impacted in a day of volatility for aerospace stocks.
Airbus
shares gained 2.5% in overseas trading. GE shares started out trading lower but closed up 1.6%.

What Does Wall Street Think?

Wall Street analysts don’t appear all that concerned about Boeing shares. The version of the MAX affected is relatively low volume and the problem appears to be a manufacturing issue.

Citi’s Gursky says he thinks the issue will turn out to be a manufacturing problem, not a design problem. The “recent 737 issue appears manufacturing versus design related and is not likely to impact long-term story,” Gursky says.

Jefferies analyst Kahyaoglu says that the problem could be resolved relatively quickly, with inspections of all MAX 9 jets finished in a few days. The inspections are expected to take four to eight hours per plane.

Kahyaoglu rates Boeing shares at Buy with a $315 price target. Gursky rates Boeing shares at Buy, as well, with the same price target. Melius analyst Spingarn rates the stock at Buy with a $267 price target.

Spingarn says Alaska has inspected several of its jets and found nothing concerning. As for Boeing stock, he says that only about 30 MAX 9 variants are due to be delivered in 2024. Boeing is expected to deliver about 540 737s of all types this year.

For now, Wall Street doesn’t see a long-term problem for Boeing. In the short run, however, investors face some pain.

Write to Al Root at [email protected]