US: United Airlines Plane Makes Emergency Landing at Tampa, Florida after Open Door Alert

A United Airlines flight made an emergency landing on Wednesday at Florida’s Tampa International Airport due to a door indicator light, according to US media reports. United Flight 2434 took off from Sarasota-Bradenton International at 3:42 pm (local time) and landed at the airport in Tampa at 4:35 pm, according to plane tracker website FlightAware.

The aircraft, an Airbus a319 carrying 123 passengers and five crew members, had to divert to Tampa due to a door indicator light turning on, the New York Post reported, citing an airport spokesperson. This incident comes as US regulator has grounded 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes “until operators complete enhanced inspections which include both left and right cabin door exit plugs, door components, and fasteners.”

Both United and Alaska Airlines have discovered loose hardware on a few of their planes within their fleet of Max 9s. On Wednesday, Alaska Airlines said it would cancel all flights on 737 MAX 9 jets through Saturday as it continues to wait for regulatory approvals to resume flying after a cabin panel blowout Boeing suggested was caused by a “quality” issue.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last week grounded 171 Boeing jets installed with the same panel after the emergency landing, including Alaska Airlines’ 65 MAX 9s. United Airlines, the other U.S. 737 MAX 9 operator with 79 of the planes in its fleet, said it had canceled 167 flights on Wednesday and expected “significant” cancellations on Thursday as well.

US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg declined to say on Wednesday when the FAA may allow the planes to resume flights but said it would only be when safe. “The only consideration on the timeline is safety,” Buttigieg told reporters. “Until it is ready, it is not ready. Nobody can or should be rushed in that process.”

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told CNBC on Wednesday that a “quality escape” was at issue in the MAX 9 cabin blowout that left a gaping hole in the plane that had been in service for just eight weeks, but added key questions remained. “What broke down in our gauntlet of inspections? What broke down in the original work that allowed for that escape to happen?” Calhoun said.

Earlier, Alaska Airlines and United said they had found loose parts on multiple grounded aircraft, raising new concerns among industry experts about Boeing’s best-selling jet family. It was reported that the carriers need revised inspection and FAA-approved maintenance instructions before they can begin flying the planes again. “We will only return these aircraft to service when all findings have been fully resolved and meet all FAA and Alaska’s stringent standards,” Alaska Airlines said.

(With agency inputs)