US Aviation Administration inspects Boeing 737 MAX 9 assembly line

The US Federal Aviation Administration announced that it will review the entire Boeing 737 MAX 9 production line and increase supervision of the corporation after the plane's fuselage exploded.

"We have had issues with manufacturing and have had issues in the past. However, these issues continue and appear on an aircraft that was delivered three months ago," Mike Whitaker, head of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), said on January 12, referring to the Boeing 737 MAX 9 that had its fuselage torn off a week ago.

The FAA announced that it would review the entire 737 MAX 9 assembly line and its suppliers. Mr. Whitaker said the FAA "believes there are other issues with the manufacturing process," adding that the plane that crashed on January 5 "did not have any significant issues." The FAA also announced that it would increase its oversight of Boeing.

Boeing 737 aircraft manufacturing plant in Renton, Washington state, USA in March 2019. Photo: Reuters — Boeing 737 aircraft manufacturing plant in Renton, Washington state, USA in March 2019. Photo: *Reuters*

Alaska Airlines and United Airlines said they found loose screws in several 737 MAX 9s during preliminary inspections following the crash, raising concerns among aviation experts about the manufacturing and certification process of Boeing's best-selling aircraft.

Boeing said on January 11 that it would cooperate fully and transparently with the FAA and the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in their investigations. Dave Calhoun, CEO of Boeing, a day earlier admitted that it made a mistake in allowing the 737 MAX 9 to fly with a defect that could have caused the fuselage to detach.

The FAA has opened an investigation into last week's fuselage rupture. The agency grounded 171 similarly configured 737 MAX 9s and said the results of a comprehensive review "will determine whether additional inspections are necessary."

"The grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 and the many manufacturing issues that have been discovered over the years require us to consider every option to mitigate risk," Whitaker said.

FAA officials declined to give a timeline for when the agency would approve maintenance guidance and inspections to allow airlines to return the 737 MAX 9 to service.

Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 flight 1282 took off from Portland, Oregon and the fuselage broke apart at 15,000 feet. The pilots turned the 737 MAX 9 around and made an emergency landing at Portland airport, with some of the 177 people on board suffering minor injuries.

The new incident dealt a blow to Boeing's reputation, which was severely damaged after two catastrophic crashes in 2018 and 2019 involving the 737 MAX 8 model, which killed a total of 346 people.