Boeing 737 Aircraft Experiences Engine Trouble During Alaska Airlines Flight, Forced To Turn Around

An Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) flight headed for Oakland, California, from Seattle was forced to turn around Sunday afternoon after the aircraft — made by The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) — reportedly experienced engine trouble.

What Happened: The Boeing 737-700 airplane left Seattle-Tacoma International Airport at 12:24 Pacific Day Light Time for Alaska Airlines Flight 1240 but flew back to the airport in just over an hour due to the #1 engine on the plane’s left side shutting down, Fox Business News reported.

 “We worked to take care of our guests and accommodate their travel to Oakland yesterday afternoon, and we apologize for the inconvenience,” Alaska Airlines statement read.

Boeing did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for further comment.

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A different aircraft got passengers to Oakland later in the evening, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. 

Why It Matters: Boeing has been under intense scrutiny over the safety of its aircraft.

The company is also seeking to acquire Spirit AeroSystems (NYSE:SPR).

Alaska Airlines, meanwhile, is in the process of trying to merge with Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:HA).

Alaska Airlines was in the news earlier this year when a Boeing 737-9 MAX door plug blowout occurred during one of their flights in January. 

Earlier this summer, the National Traffic Safety Board criticized Boeing for sharing details of the probe into the plug malfunction during a press conference by Elizabeth Lund, senior vice president of quality for Boeing commercial airplanes.

Price Action: Boeing declined 0.37% to $172.84 by Tuesday’s mid-afternoon trading, while exchange-traded funds that hold the stock went up for the most part.

• IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (NYSE:PPA) gained 0.18%
• Direxion Daily Aerospace & Defense Bull 3X Shares (NYSE:DEFN) rose 0.58%
• Gabelli Commercial Aerospace and Defense ETF (NYSE:GCAD) slid 0.09%
• First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF (NYSE:MISL) went up 0.13%
• Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF (NYSE:PPA) edged up 0.18%

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