US grounds Boeing 737 Max 9 jets after mid-air emergency

The US airline regulator has ordered the grounding of some Boeing 737 Max 9 jets after a section of the fuselage fell off in mid-air during an Alaska Airlines flight. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the inspections would affect 171 planes.

The Alaska Airlines flight from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California, was carrying 177 passengers and crew. It had reached 16,000ft when the section of the hull fell away causing the depressurisation of the cabin. The aircraft made an emergency descent and landed safely back in Portland.