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Officials have recovered a part of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max passenger jet that blew off during a flight from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California on Friday.
星期五，阿拉斯加航空公司一架波音737 Max客机的一部分在从俄勒冈州波特兰飞往加利福尼亚州安大略市的途中脱落，官方已经找回。
The plane was minutes into the flight and was able to return to the Portland airport. All 171 people and six crew members were unharmed in the incident.
飞机起飞几分钟后就返回波特兰机场。在这起事件中，所有171名乘客和六名机组成员都没有受伤。
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered that all 737 MAX aircraft be grounded on Saturday. The emergency order affected all 737 MAX 9 planes around the world.
美国联邦航空管理局（FAA）周六下令停飞所有737 MAX飞机。这一紧急命令影响了全球所有737 MAX 9型飞机。
Reports say the part that failed was called a panel or “door plug.” U.S. National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said a schoolteacher found the part in a Portland neighborhood on Sunday.
有报道称，发生故障的零件被称为“面板”或“门插销”。美国国家运输安全委员会主席詹妮弗·霍门迪表示，周日一位老师在波特兰的一个社区发现了这个零件。
The investigation into the incident is likely to last months.
对这一事件的调查可能会持续数月。
What part failed?
是哪个部分发生故障？
The 737 MAX 9 aircraft has several different designs. One can seat more than 200 passengers. This version needs to have two extra exits to meet safety rules which require all passengers to be able to escape the aircraft in 90 seconds in case of an emergency.
737 MAX 9飞机有几种不同的设计。其中一种可以容纳200多名乘客。这个版本需要增加两个额外的出口，以符合安全规定，这些规定要求在紧急情况下所有乘客都能在90秒内逃离飞机。
However, the Alaska Airlines plane has fewer than 180 seats. This version of the 737 MAX 9 is not required to have the extra exits. As a result, the plane has a panel, or permanent door plug, over the area on the plane’s body that would normally have a door. Some other versions of Boeing 737s also have door plugs.
然而，阿拉斯加航空公司的飞机座位少于180个。这款737 MAX 9的这个版本不需要额外的出口。因此，飞机的机身上有一个面板，或者说是永久性的门插销，覆盖了通常会有门的区域。波音737的一些其他版本也有门插销。
The Associated Press reports that a company called Spirit AeroSystems installed door plugs on 737 MAX 9s, including the Alaska Airlines plane.
美联社报道说，名为Spirit AeroSystems的一家公司在737 MAX 9上安装了门插销，包括阿拉斯加航空公司的飞机。
What are airlines doing?
航空公司采取了哪些措施？
Alaska Airlines has grounded all 65 of its 737 MAX 9 aircraft. They are to be inspected and to undergo maintenance. Some of the planes were still in service on Saturday, but they were grounded after the FAA ordered all operators of MAX 9s to carry out inspections.
阿拉斯加航空公司停飞了其所有65架737 MAX 9飞机。它们将接受检查并进行维护。其中一些飞机在周六仍在服役，但在FAA要求所有MAX 9的运营商进行检查后，它们被停飞。
Alaska Airlines said it canceled 170 flights on Sunday. By early Monday, 20 percent of the carrier’s flights were canceled, the AP reported.
阿拉斯加
航空公司表示，周日取消了170个航班。根据美联社的报道，到周一早上，该航空公司20%的航班已取消。
United Airlines is the world’s biggest operator of MAX 9 planes. It grounded all 79 of its planes. The two airlines are the only U.S. passenger airlines that operate the planes.
联合航空是全球最大的MAX 9飞机运营商。它停飞了其所有79架飞机。这两家航空公司是美国唯一经营这种飞机的客运航空公司。
The AP says six other airlines also operate the Boeing aircraft. There are 215 of the planes in service around the world.
美联社称，其他六家航空公司也在运营波音飞机。全球共有215架这种飞机在运营。
Air travel safety
航空安全
U.S. officials have noted that air travel remains very safe. There has not been a deadly crash of a U.S. airliner since 2009. However, the FAA held a big safety meeting last year after a series of incidents.
美国官员指出，空中旅行仍然非常安全。自2009年以来，美国客机没有发生致命坠机事故。然而，在一系列事故之后，FAA在去年举行了一次重要的安全会议。
The Alaska Airlines incident again brought attention to the 737 MAX aircraft. Aviation officials grounded MAX 8 aircraft around the world for nearly two years after crashes in 2018 and 2019. The 737 MAX 8 is a little smaller than the MAX 9.
阿拉斯加航空公司的事故再次引起了对737 MAX飞机的关注。在2018年和2019年的坠机事故后，航空官员在全球范围内停飞了MAX 8飞机近两年。737 MAX 8比MAX 9稍小。
Anthony Brickhouse is a professor of aviation safety at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida. He said it is too soon to know if the incident is the result of a problem with the MAX 9. He said government officials and airlines will confirm that the planes are safe before returning them to service.
安东尼·布里克豪斯是佛罗里达州恩布里里德尔航空航天大学的航空安全教授。他表示现在还为时过早，无法知道这一事件是否是MAX 9的问题。他说政府官员和航空公司将在将飞机恢复服务之前确认其安全性。
“When passengers board a flight, they should feel confident that the aircraft they are flying on is safe,” Brickhouse said.
布里克豪斯说：“当乘客登机时，他们应该确信他们乘坐的飞机是安全的。”
After the accident, Boeing released a statement saying it regretted the effects “this event has had on our customers and their passengers.”
在事故发生后，波音发布声明表示对“这一事件对我们的客户及其乘客产生的影响”感到遗憾，并表示将协助调查。
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Words in This Story
component –n. a part of a system or a machine
install –v. to put something in a machine in place so that it can be used correctly
maintenance –n. to keep something such as a machine in good working condition
regret –v. to wish something did not happen; to feel sorry that something was done
