FAA lays out inspection plan to get Boeing 737 Max 9s back in the air
Newsy
The jets were grounded after an incident in which a door plug flew off a Max 9 jet midflight, forcing an emergency landing.
The Federal Aviation Administration is laying out an extensive inspection plan to get Boeing 737 Max 9 planes back in service.
The jets were grounded following an incident earlier this month in which a door plug flew off the aircraft midflight, leaving a gaping hole in the plane full of passengers.
"The Jan. 5 Boeing 737-9 MAX incident must never happen again," said the FAA in a press release.
The administration issued an enhanced inspection and maintenance process after reviewing data from 40 grounded planes. The process will require the inspection of specific bolts, guide tracks and fittings, detailed visual inspections of door plugs and related components, retorquing fasteners and correcting any damage or abnormal conditions.
"We grounded the Boeing 737-9 MAX within hours of the incident over Portland and made clear this aircraft would not go back into service until it was safe," FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in a press release. "The exhaustive, enhanced review our team completed after several weeks of information gathering gives me and the FAA confidence to proceed to the inspection and maintenance phase."
