US authorities approved inspection procedure for Boeing 737 before resuming flights

The US Civil Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the inspection procedure for Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, after which airlines will be able to resume flights on these aircraft, writes The Wall Street Journal. Boeing itself has already sent relevant instructions to airlines.

Let us recall that on January 6, a Boeing 737 MAX 9 passenger plane, en route from Portland to Ontario, made an emergency landing at the departure airport after the emergency exit hatch plug fell off the airliner. The head of the US Department of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, immediately announced an investigation into the causes of the emergency landing, and Alaska Airlines suspended flights on 65 aircraft of this type. Later F.A.A. decided to suspend operation of selected Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft for inspection purposes.

The FAA order says planes will have to remain grounded until airlines complete a thorough inspection of exit plugs on both sides of the cabin, door components and fasteners. If problems are discovered, airlines must correct them immediately.

The FAA’s Jan. 6 order affected 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, nearly all of which are in the United Airlines and Alaska Airlines fleet. They ended up having to cancel hundreds of flights that weekend. Checking one aircraft takes four to eight hours, so flight cancellations will continue until at least mid-week.

Note that Turkish airlines have also suspended flights on aircraft of this configuration. And on January 7, the suspension of operation of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 until the causes of the incident were clarified announced and the European Aviation Safety Agency, noting that aircraft of this configuration are not used by any EU-registered airline.

Kirill Sarkhanyants