The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has stated it will deny any requests for production expansion from Boeing Co, including for the 737-9 MAX model, with the aim of enhancing quality control. This decision is among further actions taken by the regulator to increase safety following a recent incident with a mid-flight door plug on a Boeing plane.
However, the FAA has agreed to return the currently grounded Boeing 737-9 MAX aircrafts to service, but only after comprehensive inspection and maintenance processes have been conducted on each of the 171 aircrafts.
The grounding of these aircrafts was a result of a mid-flight incident on January 5 involving a mid-cabin door plug on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX. Subsequently on January 6, the federal regulator grounded the 737 MAX 9 planes for inspections. This event led to the FAA opening an investigation into Boeing's manufacturing practices and production lines, including discussions with subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems.
The recent halt on the expansion of MAX production is a consequence of this investigation and an increase in supervision over Boeing and its suppliers. The aim is to ensure a similar incident does not occur again.
Concerns have been raised over the safety of the 737 Max, with loose parts found on similar aircrafts by Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, the two main U.S. carriers using these planes.
FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker stated that despite an exhaustive review that gives him and the FAA the assurance to progress to the inspection and maintenance phase, it won't be "business as usual" for Boeing. Whitaker emphasized that no expansion in production or approval for additional production lines for the 737 MAX would be granted until the FAA is satisfied with the resolution of the quality control issues identified.
In addition to this, last week the FAA announced rigorous inspection and maintenance process requirements as a necessary step before considering further steps to return Boeing 737-9 MAXs to service.
The FAA has made a series of moves to enhance their oversight of Boeing's production lines since the incident. The regulator also approved inspection and maintenance instructions following the thorough review of data from 40 inspections of grounded planes. On completion of the intensified maintenance and inspection process, the door plugs on the 737-9 MAX will be compliant with the initial design, thus safe to operate. The plane will remain inoperative until this process is complete and the original design compliance is confirmed.
Earlier this week, the FAA instructed operators of Boeing 737-900ER aircrafts to visually inspect mid-exit door plugs, as they share the same plug design as the Boeing 737-9 MAX involved in the incident. The ongoing investigation into Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 will continue to be supported by the FAA.
Boeing has been dealing with several issues regarding different planes for years. This includes the grounding of its best-selling 737 Max passenger jets globally following two fatal crashes. In 2021 and 2022, Boeing disclosed a variety of production flaws on the wide-body jets, causing deliveries to be halted for several months.
In 2023, the company paused its 787 Dreamliner deliveries for a few weeks to address a data analysis issue. Subsequently, the FAA compiled a team of 24 experts from various fields to review Boeing's safety management processes and how they affect the company's safety culture. A report from the agency is expected within weeks.
