The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is urging airlines to visually inspect mid-exit door plugs on Boeing 737-900ER aircraft following an incident involving a detached door plug on an Alaska Airlines flight.
The FAA has grounded all 737-9 MAX aircraft with door plugs pending a review and approval of an inspection and maintenance process.
The FAA said in a statement, “The Boeing 737-900ER is not part of the newer MAX fleet but has the same door plug design.”
the wheel of a Delta Boeing 757 just flew off while it was preparing to take off at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The wheel then rolled down the runway…
could have been catastrophic if it happened a few seconds later
video from 1/20 (VASAviation) pic.twitter.com/mO7Fvzysmx
— Gregg Re (@gregg_re) January 23, 2024
The FAA had previously announced, “All 737-9 MAX aircraft with door plugs will remain grounded pending the FAA’s review and final approval of an inspection and maintenance process that satisfies all FAA safety requirements.”
“Once the FAA approves an inspection and maintenance process, it will be required on every grounded 737-9 MAX prior to future operation,” declared the agency.
“The safety of the flying public, not speed, will determine the timeline for returning these aircraft to service,” their statement continued.
The FAA claimed the Alaska Airlines incident “should have never happened and it cannot happen again.”
At least 40 inspections of Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft have been completed, and the FAA is conducting an investigation to determine if Boeing failed to ensure safe operation in compliance with regulations.
The FAA wrote, “FAA formally notified Boeing that it is conducting an investigation to determine if Boeing failed to ensure completed products conformed to its approved design and were in a condition for safe operation in compliance with FAA regulations.”
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