The US Federal Aviation Administration has extended the grounding of Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft indefinitely. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said yesterday (local time) that the ongoing ban on 171 aircraft is “for the safety of American travelers.”
40 aircraft need to be reinspected. The authority will then examine the results and decide whether safety is sufficient to allow the Max 9 to fly again.
“Focus on the manufacturing process”
The authority said on Monday that the flight ban would be lifted once the planes were inspected. “We are increasingly focused on the manufacturing process,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker told Portal.
Under stricter oversight, the regulator will scrutinize the Boeing 737 Max 9 production line and suppliers. They then want to consider having an independent body take over certain aspects of new aircraft safety certification that the FAA previously assigned to the aircraft manufacturer.
After a dramatic incident with part of the cabin of a Boeing 737 Max 9 breaking at an altitude of almost 4,900 meters, the US aviation authority stopped 171 aircraft of the type from taking off for the time being last week.