All 3 Bay Area airports impacted by FAA's grounding of 737 Max 9 planes

ByCornell Barnard KGO logo

Sunday, January 7, 2024

Bay Area airports impacted by FAA's grounding of 737 Max 9 planes

All three Bay Area airports saw some impact by Saturday's temporary grounding of some 737 Max 9's by the FAA.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- All three Bay Area airports saw some impact by Saturday's temporary grounding of some 737 Max 9's by the FAA. Oakland, SFO and San Jose Mineta Airports saw dozens of flight cancellations. One Alaska Airlines plane had to return to San Jose for inspection, more than an hour into its flight.

"Actually, my wife noticed we're going in the wrong direction and coming back," said Tom Lopez.

Lopez' vacation to Puerto Vallarta was cut short Saturday, an hour-and-a-half after his Alaska Airlines flight took off from San Jose Mineta airport.

"The captain got on, said, 'We've been instructed we have to go back to San Jose," Lopez said.

Lopez said he heard the captain discuss that the plane needed to be inspected.

"He never said emergency," he said.

On Saturday, the FAA temporarily grounding some Boeing 737 Max 9 airplanes, after an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland to Ontario lost a cabin door plug mid-flight on Friday night. No one was hurt but Lopez wonders why his flight was allowed to take off.

"That was my main thing. I couldn't believe somebody dropped the ball and let the plane go off in the air," Lopez said.

By Saturday afternoon, 42 flights were cancelled at SFO, including 27 Alaska Flights and 14 on United Airlines.

Passengers on an Alaska Airlines flight from Portland to Ontario, Calif. recorded as the plane was making an emergency landing after a hole opened up in its side.

We saw four Alaska jets parked on an SFO tarmac. An aviation expert tells ABC7 News the planes were 737 Max 9's.

The FAA is requiring immediate inspections of the planes before they can return to flight.

In a statement the FAA said, "Safety will continue to drive our decision making as we assist the NTSB's investigation into Alaska Airlines Flight 1282."

The Muller family from Portland was flying home and feeling a bit uneasy after seeing video of the in-flight emergency on social media.

"It's a little concerning, especially since we're flying the day after. It's kind of a chance you take flying on planes. I have to get home either way," said Sarah Muller.