THE BOEING 737 MAX 9 passenger jet (Wikipedia).

A mid-flight blowout on a Boeing 737 Max 9 passenger jet flown by Alaska Airlines on Friday has led to the discovery of loose bolts and what were described as “installation issues” on similar planes on Monday, according to United Airlines.

Plugs designed to seal an area designated for extra emergency doors were one of the components that blew off the Alaska Airlines plane as it cruised at 16,000 feet above Oregon.

All Max 9s operated by Alaska and United  – along with some flown by foreign airlines – have been grounded by the Federal Aviation Agency.

The inspection indicated that the door plugs, needed to be tightened. The FAA on Monday gave its approval to guidelines for inspecting and/or replacing the door plugs on the airplane.

Nevertheless, shares of Boeing dropped 8 percent on Monday and Spirit AeroSystems, which builds the fuselage for the 737 Max, declined by 11 percent.

21 hurt in Ft. Worth explosion

An explosion at Sandman Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas on Monday injured 21 people.

According to authorities, the injured included one person in critical condition, four in serious condition and the rest suffering minor injuries. 

Fire officials believe the mishap might have been caused  by “some type of gas explosion,” but were working to verify the cause.

Arriving public safety personnel saw rubble on the street between two buildings. Firefighters rescued two people who were trapped in the basement.

Wolverines win football championship

The top-ranked University of Michigan Wolverine team defeated the University of Washington Huskies 34-13 on Monday to claim the national college football championship.

The Wolverines finish the season 15-0, while the Huskies are 14-1. Michigan had an early 14-point lead, which Washington closed to 17-10 before the blue and maize pulled away in the fourth quarter.

Donovan Edwards rushed for two touchdowns for Michigan as did Blake Corum. Monday’s victory gave the Wolverines their first national crown since 1997.

This is the last year of the college football playoff as we’ve known it. The four-team, two-round tournament will give way to a 16-team field, with the top-four ranked teams getting a bye in the first round, then joining the four first-round survivors in an eight-team series.

Weather: Stuck in the Sixties

The outlook for our West Orange County is for daytime temperatures in the mid-60s, with evening temps in the low to mid-40s. Tuesday will be mostly sunny with a high of 65 and a low of 43. Wednesday is forecast to be sunny with temps of 64 (43). Mostly sunny conditions should return on Thursday at 63(41) Friday will be similar at 63 (43) under partly cloudy skies.