US grounds some Boeing MAX planes for safety checks after cabin emergency

U.S. regulators on Saturday temporarily grounded 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 jetliners for safety checks following a cabin panel blowout that forced a new Alaska Airlines jet carrying passengers to make an emergency landing. "The FAA is requiring immediate inspections of certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes before they can return to flight," FAA chief Mike Whitaker said. MAX planes were grounded worldwide for 20 months following the crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia linked to poorly designed cockpit software. Alaska, United affectedAlaska Airlines and United Airlines are the only U.S. carriers using the MAX 9, according to aviation data provider Cirium. Alaska said earlier it had voluntarily grounded its fleet of 65 Boeing MAX 9 jets for checks.