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United, which has more Max 9s than any other U.S. carrier, has canceled more than 470 flights since Saturday.

By Paradise Afshar, Elizabeth Wolfe, Gregory Wallace and Pete Muntean, CNN

(CNN) — Federal officials examining the horrifying midflight blowout of part of an Alaska Airlines aircraft’s fuselage said the lost piece has been found – a key detail<a class="excerpt-read-more" href="https://whdh.com/news/missing-part-of-alaska-airlines-plane-is-found-in-portland-oregon-ntsb-says-as-united-airlines-finds-loose-bolts-on-max-9s/">Read More</a>

​U.S. regulators grounded 171 MAX 9 planes after a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines-operated flight not long after taking off from a Portland, Oregon, airport on Friday, forcing pilots to scramble to land the plane safely. United, one of the two U.S. carriers that fly this Boeing model with the panels, said its own preliminary checks found bolts that needed tightening on several panels.

The Boeing has come under scrutiny after a door plug blew off an Alaska Air jet in mid-flight

The incident in which a panel on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX tore off over the weekend has airlines looking into whether other aircraft might be at risk.

Experts are analyzing both plane and door plug now. New reporting suggests that manufacturing issues may be behind the dangerous situation.

Alaska Airlines cancelled 141 flights, or 20% of its scheduled departures, on Monday after grounding its 65 MAX 9s. The carrier said travel disruptions were expected to last through at least mid-week. United, which has grounded its 79 MAX 9s, cancelled 226 flights on Monday, or 8% of its scheduled departures.

Boeing 737 MAX planes' safety record isn't stellar. MAX 8 crashes killed 346 people in 2018-2019, and a manufacturing issue caused Friday's incident.

Alaska Airlines said initial reports from its technicians indicated some ‘loose hardware’ was visible on some aircraft in the relevant area when it conducted checks.