Boeing is facing increased scrutiny over its manufacturing quality after federal regulators instructed airlines to inspect the door plugs on another model, the 737-900ER. This comes after issues with fasteners were discovered on this particular model, similar to the problems encountered on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 earlier this month.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has recommended that airlines conduct visual inspections of the door plugs on 737-900ER models, which use mid-aft plugs that are similar to the ones that failed on the Alaska Airlines flight. The 737-900ER is an earlier model compared to the Max 9 used on Flight 1282. The FAA believes these inspections will provide an added level of safety. Some operators of the 737-900ER have reported issues with bolts during inspections.
Boeing’s stock has been affected by this news, with a 2.3% drop in premarket trading. This year, Boeing’s stock has fallen 18%, making it the worst performer among Dow Jones Industrial Average members.
Approximately 505 Boeing 737-900ER planes have been delivered to airlines worldwide, although not all use door plugs as it depends on airlines’ seat configurations.
Following the incident on Flight 1282, regulators, customers, and Boeing itself have been closely examining the manufacturing quality at Boeing. The FAA has launched an investigation into Boeing’s quality and will increase its oversight of production and manufacturing. Airlines, including Alaska Air Group and Ryanair, have also stated that they will add inspectors at Boeing plants. Boeing has expressed its full support for the FAA’s actions.
Major operators of the 900ER model include United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Delta Air Lines, as well as Korean Air, Lion Air from Indonesia, and El Al.
Since the incident, United has initiated proactive inspections on its 136 737-900ERs and expects them to be completed in the next few days. Meanwhile, its Max 9s will remain grounded until Friday.
Delta, with 163 900ER jets in its fleet, plans to carry out inspections and doesn’t anticipate any operational impact.
Inspections of the Max 9 plug door can take up to eight hours, while the visual checks required for the 900ER are specific to four locations where bolt, nut, and pin installations secure the door to the airframe. These inspections involve stripping back the door plug to its bare frame. Most airlines have stated that these measures have not affected their flights.
It is worth noting that prior to the incident with Alaska Air, federal regulators had already increased their oversight of Boeing due to the two 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 that resulted in the deaths of 346 people. FAA inspectors are now required to sign off on every delivery of 737 and 787 aircraft, a responsibility that was previously delegated to Boeing employees.
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