FAA calls for more checks on another Boeing 737 model
The Federal Aviation Administration announced late Sunday night it is requiring extra inspections on some Boeing 737-900s – an earlier generation of planes than the one involved in this month’s explosive decompression incident on Alaska Airlines that still uses the same type of door plug.
“As an added layer of safety, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is recommending that operators of Boeing 737-900ER aircraft visually inspect mid-exit door plugs to ensure the door is properly secured. The Boeing 737900ER is not part of the newer Max fleet but has the same door plug design,” the agency’s statement said.
On Jan. 5, a midcabin exit door plug separated from an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 jet in flight. The plane landed safely with no injuries reported, but the FAA almost immediately grounded the entire fleet of Max 9 aircraft, pending inspections of the plugs. Preliminary inspections have already turned up installation quality issues on multiple planes, and the FAA further announced it was increasing oversight of Boeing’s production lines.
The latest order concerns 737900ERs, which are some of the last versions of the “Next Generation” era of the 737 line. The first 737-900ER was delivered to Lion Air on April 27, 2007, and 505 planes of the variant were delivered to airlines by 2020, following Boeing’s closure of the Next Generation production line in 2019. According to Planespotters.net, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Alaska Airlines are the only U.S. operators of the 737-900ER, with 158, 125 and 76 in service, respectively. No major incidents with the midcabin door plug have been reported on a 737900ER during its service life.