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<\/div>\nThe U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has recommended that airlines <\/span>operating Boeing 737-900ER jets inspect door plugs<\/a> to ensure that they <\/span>are properly secured after some operators reported unspecified issues with bolts upon inspections.<\/p>\n Regulators have stepped up scrutiny on Boeing after a Jan. 5 mid-air panel blowout on an eight-week-old Alaska Airlines MAX 9 jet that left a gaping hole in the aircraft. Boeing has sought to contain the damage, appointing an independent advisor to examine quality control in its manufacturing processes while numerous planes remain grounded.<\/span><\/p>\n The FAA grounded<\/span> 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes after the Jan. 5 incident.<\/span><\/p>\n In its new \u201cSafety Alert for Operators,\u201d the FAA said that some airlines had conducted additional inspections on the 737-900ER mid-exit door plugs and had noted \u201cfindings with bolts during the maintenance inspections.\u201d<\/p>\n The 737-900ER is more widely used than the 737 MAX 9. It is an older model but <\/span>has the same optional door plug design that allows for the addition of an extra emergency exit door when carriers opt to install more seats.<\/p>\n There are 490 Boeing 737-900ER jets in service, at least 79 of which have an active door rather than the plug because they are operated by low-cost airlines with denser cabins, according to Cirium data.<\/p>\n The FAA recommended that carriers perform key portions of a fuselage plug assembly maintenance procedure related to the four bolts used to secure the door plug to the airframe \u201cas soon as possible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n A Boeing spokesperson said: \u201cWe fully support the FAA and our customers in this action.\u201d<\/p>\n Boeing first delivered the 737-900ER in 2007 and the last <\/span>one in 2019.<\/p>\n Boeing BA.N<\/span> shares were down 0.8% in morning trading on Monday. <\/span>They are down more than 17% since the beginning of the year.<\/p>\n Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, the only two U.S. carriers that use the MAX 9, this month said they had found loose parts on multiple grounded MAX 9 aircraft during preliminary checks.<\/p>\n They have had to cancel thousands of flights this month because of the grounding, with United cancellations extending at least through Friday<\/span>. Alaska <\/span>did not immediately comment on how long it planned to extend cancellations.<\/span><\/p>\n The FAA on Sunday said MAX 9 planes will remain grounded until it \u201cis satisfied they are safe to return to service.\u201d<\/p>\n LITTLE 900ER DISRUPTION SEEN<\/p>\n In contrast to the new MAX <\/span>9 that experienced the door-plug issue, Boeing 737-900ER aircraft have more than 11 million hours of operation and 3.9 million flight cycles, and the FAA said the <\/span>door plug \u201chas not been an issue with this model.\u201d<\/p>\n Both United and Alaska said they had begun inspections of the door plugs on their 737-900ER fleets. United, which has 136 737-900ER aircraft, said <\/span>inspections should be <\/span>completed in the next few days without customer disruptions.<\/span><\/p>\n Alaska said its inspections began several days ago without any findings so far.<\/p>\n Delta Air Lines, the largest operator of the 900ER, said it had opted to take \u201cproactive measures\u201d to inspect its fleet. It does not expect any operational impact.<\/p>\n Globally, the three U.S. carriers operate the vast majority of the 737-900ERs with the door plugs.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Korean Air, which has six 737-900ERs, said it planned to carry out additional inspections and finish them within 30 days without any schedule disruption.<\/p>\n The FAA on Wednesday said <\/span>inspections of an initial group of 40 Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets had been completed, a key hurdle to ending the grounding of the model. The FAA is continuing to review data from those inspections.<\/p>\n FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker told Reuters this month that the FAA was \u201cgoing through a process to work out how to restore confidence in the integrity of these plug doors.\u201d<\/p>\n National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy last week said that the investigative agency would be looking at numerous records related to the door plug. She said it was <\/span>unclear if the bolts on the Alaska Airlines jet were properly secured or if they were actually installed at all.<\/p>\n Topics<\/span> Aviation<\/a> Aerospace<\/a> Alaska<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Was this article valuable?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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