The regulatory body for airlines in the United States has ordered the suspension of certain Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft following the detachment of an exterior section during an Alaska Airlines flight, affecting a total of 171 planes.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced inspections after an Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Oregon with 177 passengers on board.

Flash:#AlaskaAirlines temporarily grounded its entire fleet of #Boeing 737-9 aircraft. The decision came after one of the planes experienced mid-air emergency on Friday (local time) when an exit door detached from aircraft, leading to an urgent landing in #Portland.

Soon after… pic.twitter.com/8VVdBPExkS

— Yuvraj Singh Mann (@yuvnique) January 6, 2024

The FAA stated that the inspections will take between four and eight hours per aircraft, and the incident involved a significant impact on the rear left side of the plane, with deployed oxygen masks.

In an audio recording, the pilot can be heard communicating with air traffic control and requesting permission to change the route.

"We are in an emergency," he mentioned. "We are depressurized; we need to return."

Alaska Airlines Forced to Make an Emergency Landing After Large Aircraft Window Blows Out Mid-Air.

The situation was so bad a child’s shirt was ripped off. pic.twitter.com/y4yMA12Iq0

— DramaAlert (@DramaAlert) January 6, 2024

According to photographs, the affected area was located in the rear third of the plane, behind the wing and engines.

The CEO of Alaska Airlines stated that each aircraft will return to service only after completing all safety and maintenance inspections, and more than a quarter of the initially suspended planes have been inspected without issues.

The FAA is requiring immediate inspections of certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes before they can return to flight.

Safety will continue to drive our decision-making as we assist the @NTSB’s investigation into Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. - @FAA_Mike pic.twitter.com/YsuQimg2pq

— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) January 6, 2024

This incident is the latest problem related to the Boeing 737 Max 9, a model that was grounded for almost two years following accidents in 2018 and 2019.

With information from BBC.