Federal regulators on Tuesday asked Boeing to revise its instructions for airline inspections of its 737 Max 9, delaying efforts to get the jet back in the air after a part of one of the planes exploded during a flight late last week.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the company would revise the instructions released Monday based on the agency's feedback, but did not provide further details.
“Upon receipt of the revised version of Boeing’s instructions, the FAA will conduct a thorough review,” the agency said in a statement. “The safety of the flying public, not speed, will determine the timeline for returning the Boeing 737-9 Max to service.”
The FAA said Saturday it would require inspections of the planes after a panel in one of them ruptured during an Alaska Airlines flight the day before. Although no serious injuries were reported, the incident exposed passengers to high winds and raised new concerns about Boeing's safety practices. The incident has also forced airlines operating the Max 9 to cancel numerous flights.
The bankruptcy is the latest in a series of setbacks for Boeing, which has struggled to regain public trust after two Boeing 737 Max 8 crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.
It was not immediately clear why Boeing's original plan failed. The company said Monday morning that it had sent instructions to airlines to inspect the affected panel, a plug where an exit door would otherwise be attached. Hours later, the FAA said it had approved “a method of compliance” with the agency's order on Saturday, appearing to confirm Boeing's statement. The focus of the tests is on door plugs, door components and fasteners.
Alaska Airlines and United, the two largest operators of the Max 9, said Monday they found loose parts during preliminary inspections of the panel, also called the door plug.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators recovered the door stopper but said Monday that they were still looking for some associated parts.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun is expected to address employees Tuesday afternoon at a meeting in the Seattle area, where the company makes several of its planes, including the Max. Mr. Calhoun took the helm of the company in January 2020 after his predecessor was forced out during the earlier Max crisis.
During Friday's flight with 171 passengers and six crew members, the plane's crew had trouble communicating after the panel burned out. The pilots and flight attendants said they were surprised when the door separating the cockpit from the passenger cabin flew open, said Jennifer Homendy, the chairwoman of the safety committee, during a news conference Monday evening. This exposed the pilots to strong winds and cabin noise, making it difficult for them to hear each other and communicate with air traffic control.
Ms Homendy said the cockpit door was designed to open during a rapid decompression event, but that the crew had not been informed of this feature of the aircraft. She said Boeing plans to make changes to its manual to inform crews.
The incident could have been much more catastrophic if the plane had been at a higher altitude – the Alaska plane was at 16,000 feet when the plate exploded. Had the plane flown at an altitude of more than 30,000 feet, passengers would have been able to move around the cabin and would have had less time to safely put on oxygen masks and buckle up.