The Federal Aviation Administration announced Thursday that it has launched an investigation into Boeing to determine if the company failed to ensure its completed products conformed to their approved design and were safe to fly.

The move comes almost a week after a Boeing Model 737-9 MAX was forced to make an emergency landing at a Portland, Ore., airport after a panel broke off the aircraft midflight.

What You Need To Know

  • The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that it has launched an investigation into Boeing

  • The agency wants to determine if the company failed to ensure its completed products conformed to their approved design and were safe to fly

  • The investigation comes less than a week after a Boeing Model 737-9 MAX was forced to make an emergency landing when a panel broke off the aircraft midflight

  • The FAA has grounded all MAX 9s following the incident and said the safety of the flying public, not speed, will determine the timeline for return the aircraft to service.

“Boeing’s manufacturing practices need to comply with the high safety standards they’re legally accountable to meet,” the agency said in a statement posted to its website.

The move comes one day after Alaska Airlines canceled all of its 737-9 MAX flights through Saturday. The company said it was waiting for documentation from Boeing and the FAA for aircraft inspections to begin.

"This incident should have never happened and it cannot happen again," the FAA said in a statement.

In a statement obtained by Reuters, Boeing said that it would "cooperate fully and transparently with the FAA and the NTSB on their investigations."

The FAA grounded all MAX 9s following the Alaska Airlines incident last Friday. On Thursday, it said, “the safety of the flying public, not speed, will determine the timeline for returning the Boeing 737-9 MAX to service.”

Earlier this week, United Airlines said it had found loose bolts and other “installation issues” on a part of some Boeing 737-9 MAX jets that were inspected after the mid-flight blowout on a similar Alaska Airlines plane.