(New York) The American civil aviation regulatory agency (FAA) announced Wednesday evening that it had established a “vast” maintenance and inspection program to allow the Boeing 737 MAX 9, grounded in the United States after an incident at the beginning of January, to return to the air.
In the process, the American company United Airlines – which has the largest fleet of this model (79 aircraft) – announced that it was preparing to resume service of these aircraft from Sunday.
On January 5, a cabin door of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 flying from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California came loose in flight.
Airlines have the possibility of blocking a door when the number of existing emergency exits is sufficient in relation to the number of seats on the aircraft. This modification has been made on 171 of the 218 Boeing 737 MAX 9s delivered to date.
In the process, the FAA suspended the aircraft configured in this way from flight until further notice.
“This incident must never happen again,” noted the regulator in a press release, announcing “additional actions to ensure that every plane is safe.”
It is only once the established plan is completed, “that the plane will be able to return to service,” he said, without giving a date.
He detailed a four-point program including checking specific fixings as well as visual inspections of all cap holders and their components, and repairing any damage or abnormal condition.
“The quality problems we have observed are unacceptable,” commented Mike Whitaker, head of the FAA, quoted in the press release, announcing a strengthening of teams “to closely monitor production and industrial activities”.
The regulator also specifies that it has informed Boeing of its refusal to authorize any expansion of production of the 737 MAX family – the American manufacturer’s flagship aircraft –, including that of the MAX 9.
Shortly after this announcement, United Airlines Chief Operating Officer Toby Enqvist sent a message to company staff informing them of the FAA’s decision.
“We will only return each MAX 9 aircraft to service once the thorough inspection process is completed,” he assured. “We are preparing to resume aircraft service from Sunday,” he said.