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A Boeing 737 Max 9: Of the 144 aircraft affected in the United States, 135 were inspected and returned to service
Photo: Jason Redmond / REUTERS
Around a month after a fuselage part of a Boeing 737 Max 9 came off in flight and the US aviation authority ordered a flight ban for all identical models, the majority of the affected aircraft are back in use. Of the 144 aircraft affected in the United States, 135 were inspected and returned to service.
On an Alaska Airlines flight earlier this year, part of the cabin separated from the fuselage shortly after takeoff. The plane had to make an emergency landing.
The FAA then ordered all Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft to be grounded and inspected. The torn out component closes a door opening that is not needed in the model variant. During subsequent inspections, Alaska and United Airlines also found loose fasteners in other aircraft of the type.
The US manufacturer recently announced that the delivery of 50 of its passenger aircraft of this type would be delayed. The reason is two incorrectly drilled holes in some aircraft fuselages, about which the supplier Spirit Aero Systems informed the manufacturer Boeing. This makes further work on the aircraft necessary.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had previously banned Boeing from expanding production of the aircraft. “The quality assurance problems we have seen are unacceptable,” said Mike Whitaker of the FAA recently. “For this reason, we will closely examine and monitor production and manufacturing activities.” To this end, more staff are now being planned on site.
The aircraft manufacturer Boeing has been increasingly criticized since the near-miss. The incident also had far-reaching consequences for Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, the two US airlines that use the affected aircraft: They had to cancel numerous flights because of the flight ban. United operates 65 aircraft of this type, Alaska 79.
spr/dpa/Reuters