A preventive measure was taken by South Korea, which, despite not having the 737 MAX 9 in the country, decided to inspect Boeing’s smaller model. This measure came after Alaska Airlines’ flight AS-1282, operated by the Boeing 737 MAX 9, the largest version in commercial operation today of the 737, in which an aircraft door detached when the plane crossed 14,000 feet (4,200m) in altitude, causing the jet to fly for several minutes with a «hole» in the fuselage.
For prevention, various aviation agencies around the world, including Brazil’s ANAC, decided to ban flights with the model, whether by domestic or foreign airlines.
While the case is still under investigation, no agency had taken any measures against the 737 MAX 8, which is smaller than the MAX 9 and does not have that door precisely because it carries fewer passengers and requires fewer emergency exits.
Nevertheless, South Korea decided to follow a conservative approach and ordered the 14 737 MAX 8 jets operating in the country, from companies Eastar Jet, T’way Air, Jeju Air, Jin Air, and Korean Air, to be inspected.
As the model does not have the same type of door as the MAX 9, an inspection will be conducted on all doors and emergency exits to ensure they are properly attached to the fuselage, as reported by The Korea Herald.
According to the newspaper, the fuselage itself will be inspected to ensure there are no structural defects. It was not reported how long this inspection will take and what the impact will be on the operations of the 5 airlines that operate the model in the country.
