PORTLAND, OREGON - JANUARY 7: In this National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) handout, plastic covers the exterior of the fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 Boeing 737-9 MAX on January 7, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. A door-sized section near the rear of the Boeing 737-9 MAX plane blew off 10 minutes after Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 took off from Portland, Oregon on January 5 on its way to Ontario, California. (Photo by NTSB via Getty Images)
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The Big Story
Boeing 737 Max planes grounded after emergency
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded more than 100 Boeing planes Saturday after an Alaska Airlines flight suffered an inflight blowout.
An Alaska Airlines flight from Portland, Ore., to Ontario, Calif., suffered an “explosive decompression” midflight Friday evening when a panel plugging an unused emergency exit door on the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft blew off just minutes after takeoff.
Videos of the incident showed passengers wearing oxygen masks after the blowout, which left a gaping hole in the side of the fuselage. The plane made an emergency landing back at Portland International Airport, and no injuries were reported.
On Saturday, the FAA ordered the temporary grounding of about 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft operated by U.S. airlines or in U.S. territory.
The grounding has resulted in hundreds of flight cancellations for Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, the only U.S. airlines that fly the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft.
Shares of Boeing and aerospace supplier Spirit AeroSystems tumbled when the markets opened Monday morning. Spirit AeroSystems reportedly manufactured and initially installed the fuselage part that suffered a blowout Friday, according to Reuters.
Boeing stock fell nearly 9 percent after the opening bell, while Spirit AeroSystems plunged about 14 percent. Both had recovered slightly by midday.
Billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday adamantly denied using illegal drugs, after the Wall Street Journal published a scathing report detailing purported concerns among some high-level company executives about the SpaceX and Tesla CEO’s alleged illegal drug use. The Journal reported Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, has used LSD, cocaine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms, including at private parties around the world, where …
An American aerospace company said Monday that its probe’s lunar landing may not go forward after engine problems at launch that could leave it short of power. Astrobotic Technology, based in Pittsburgh, said its Cape Canaveral, Fla., launch early Monday morning went well until an “anomaly” prevented the craft from “achieving a stable sun-pointing orientation.” Without active solar panels, the Peregrine probe has dwindling …
Radio and podcast company Audacy revealed that it filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy Sunday, citing “macroeconomic challenges” as the reason for its restructuring. Audacy is the home to hundreds of broadcast, sports and podcast shows and is one of the largest radio broadcasters in the country. In an announcement Sunday, Audacy’s President and CEO David Field revealed that it filed for bankruptcy and that it entered into …
News we’ve flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics:
How fringe sites forecast dark AI future
On fringe online sites, artificial intelligence (AI) is already being used to fuel online harassment, and experts warn it may offer a glimpse into tactics that will be adopted more widely online in the future, The New York Times reported.
YouTube updates harassment policy for AI
YouTube will crack down on AI content that “realistically simulates” deceased minors or victims of deadly violent crimes as part of an update to its harassment and cyberbullying policies, TechCrunch reported.
On Our Radar
Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing to examine harnessing AI to improve government services and customer service on Wednesday at 10 a.m.
In Other News
Branch out with other reads on The Hill:
CES 2024 updates: The most interesting news and gadgets from tech’s big show
LAS VEGAS (AP) — CES 2024 kicks off in Las Vegas this week. The multi-day trade event put on by the Consumer Technology Association is set to feature swaths of the latest advances and gadgets across personal tech, transportation, health care, sustainability and more — with burgeoning uses of artificial …
LONDON (AP) — England’s 1,000-year-old legal system — still steeped in traditions that include wearing wigs and robes — has taken a cautious step into the future by giving judges permission to use artificial intelligence to help produce rulings. The Courts and Tribunals Judiciary last month said …
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R) and CNN anchor Boris Sanchez on Monday got into a contentious back and forth over whether former President … Read more
Michelle Obama says fears about the 2024 White House race keep her up at night. “I am terrified about what could possibly happen,” Obama said of this … Read more
