Federal regulators cleared the way for Boeing 737 Max 9 jets to fly again on Wednesday – but also said they would put new limits on production of the troubled planes.
The Federal Aviation Administration grounded about 170 Max 9 planes on Jan. 6 after a body panel detached from an Alaska Airlines Max 9 minutes after the flight took off from Portland, Ore., leaving a gaping hole in the side of the jet.
On Wednesday, the agency approved a set of inspection and maintenance procedures and said airlines could resume flying the jets once the checks were completed. The process involves requiring airlines to inspect certain bolts and fasteners and re-torque the fasteners on the panel, known as a door plug, which is placed where an emergency exit door would be if a jet had more seats.
United Airlines said it will begin inspecting its 79 Max 9 planes under the new guidelines and is expected to begin operating them again on Sunday. Alaska Airlines said on its website that it planned to return “a few planes” to service on Friday, “with more planes being added each day as inspections are completed and each aircraft is deemed airworthy.” The airline said it expects to complete inspections on all 65 of its Max 9 planes next week.
In a statement Wednesday, Mike Whittaker, the FAA administrator, said the agency was confident that, with the necessary checks, the planes were safe.
“We grounded the Boeing 737-9 Max within hours of the incident over Portland and made it clear that this aircraft will not return to service until it is safe,” he said.
But while the existing planes could begin flying in a few days, the FAA made it clear that Boeing’s problems were not over. In its statement, the agency said it would not allow Boeing to expand production of any of the 737 Max planes — not just the Max 9 but other versions of the plane.
“Let me be clear: This will not be business as usual for Boeing,” Mr. Whitaker said in the statement. He said the agency would not approve production increases until it was “satisfied that the quality control issues uncovered during this process have been resolved.”
The FAA order is the latest in a series of problems for Boeing, and the 737 Max in particular. The line of fuel-efficient planes was intended to help the company regain ground it had lost to European rival Airbus, and it quickly became the best-selling jet in Boeing’s history. But crashes of a different variant of the plane, the Max 8, in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people and led to Max groundings around the world.
The near-disaster in January prompted new scrutiny of quality control at Boeing and its contractors, including Spirit AeroSystems, a supplier that builds the fuselage for the 737 Max in Wichita, Kan.
The FAA said Wednesday it will increase oversight of Boeing and launch an investigation into the company’s practices.
“The quality assurance issues we’ve seen are unacceptable,” Mr Whitaker said. “That’s why we’re going to have more boots on the ground looking at and closely monitoring production and manufacturing activities.”
In a statement after the FAA’s announcement Wednesday, Boeing said it would “continue to fully and transparently cooperate” with the agency and follow its directions.
“We will also work closely with our airline customers as they complete the required inspection procedures to safely return their 737-9 aircraft to service,” the company said.
Sydney Ember contributed to the report.
