 "United Airlines")
United Airlines made an emergency landing in Tampa on its way to Chicago on Wednesday after a warning light signalled that a door in the aircraft was open, according to a report by Hindustan Times. The unscheduled landing in Tampa International Airport comes days after a door plug flew off an Alaska Airline plane mid-air. Terrifying videos of the Alaska Airlines incident circulated across social media platforms, raising many concerns regarding safety and aircraft durability.
The United flight number 2434 was headed from Sarasota, Florida to Chicago when the pilots noticed the warning signal and contacted airport authorities. The pilots decided to divert the flightfrom its original plan and land at the nearest airport, which was Tampa, as a security measure.
The flights had departed from Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport at 3:42 pm and Tampa at 4:35 pm, with 123 passengers and five crew members on board.
A United spokesperson confirmed that the landing was a "precaution" to address "possible mechanical issue". However, the spokesperson did not confirm where the "mechanical issue" was in relation to open door warning or something else. A Tampa International Airport spokesperson stated that the "open door light" was the reason cited by the pilots when they requested the emergency landing.
An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX, headed from Portland to California, experienced an emergency when one large aircraft window blew off mid-air minutes after departure last week. The aircraft was carrying 171 passengers and six crew members. A forced emergency landing was made back at Portland International Airport. Both Alaska Airlines and US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said through posts on their official X (formerly Twitter) pages that the incident would be investigated.
The aircraft, AS1282, had reached a maximum altitude of 16,325 feet before being diverted back to Portland. Following the incident, all Alaska Airlines 737-9 MAX aircraft were suspended pending full inspection and maintenance, ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
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On Wednesday, Alaska Airlines issued an official apology to all those affected by the grounding of the 737-9 MAX fleet. The airline assured that "No aircraft will be returned until all of these steps are complete. The safety of these aircrafts and all of our guests is our priority and we will take the time and steps necessary to ensure airworthiness."
United Airlines and Alaska Airlines are the only two carriers in the United States that operate this model of plane, and both airlines have reportedly found some loose hardware on their Max 9s.
