Kellye Johns
Jan 08, 2024 - 11:45

Boeing stock plunges: Active Boeing 737 Max 9 investigation

Stocks face uncertainty after first losing week in ten. Boeing 737 Max 9 planes grounded after emergency landing and investigation.

Good morning, everyone! It's J.D. Durkin here, reporting live from the bustling floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Today, we've got a lot of exciting headlines to cover, so let's dive right in.

Last week, we saw the stock market experience its first losing week in ten weeks. This was in response to a jobs report that came in hotter than expected, as well as some uncertain comments from Federal Reserve officials. As we kick off this new week, all eyes are on the Federal Reserve for further updates, as well as a key inflation report set to be released on Thursday.

In addition to these market developments, there's been some concerning news for Boeing. An investigation has been launched after a malfunction occurred on one of its planes. On January 6th, a door plug blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight while the plane was flying at 16,000 feet. Despite the frightening incident, the plane was able to make an emergency landing and thankfully, no one was seriously injured.

The plane in question was a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft, which had only been in service for about three months and had completed approximately 150 flights since October 2023. In response to this incident, the Federal Aviation Administration has grounded 171 of the 215 Max 9 planes in operation worldwide, and has issued an emergency airworthiness directive calling for immediate inspections.

Boeing's CEO, Dave Calhoun, addressed the incident in a letter to employees, emphasizing the need for continued improvement in safety management and quality control systems. It's worth noting that the Max 9 is a larger version of the Max 8, which was involved in two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019, resulting in a global grounding of the aircraft for nearly two years.

As a result of this latest development, Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, the only two U.S. carriers operating the Boeing Max 9, have collectively canceled over 300 flights on Monday.

And that's a wrap for today's market update. As always, I'm J.D. Durkin, reporting from the New York Stock Exchange for TheStreet. Stay tuned for more updates throughout the day!