Boeing 737 Max 9 planes that have passed a new inspection process will be permitted to fly again, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has announced.
Almost 200 aircraft were grounded in early January following a mid-air emergency on an Alaska Airlines flight.
On 5 January, a flight leaving Portland, Oregon had to make an emergency landing after part of the plane — known as a door plug or a fuselage plug — flew off, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the aircraft.
At least for 737 the Max 9 is the only one long enough to have this extra door/plug option. None of the others are long enough to need it in any configuration, so there simply isn’t a hole in the plane for anything except this one (or its previous generation, the 17 year old 737-900ER, which they’re also checking just to be sure)