WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, February 6, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Foundation for Aviation Safety strongly opposes the decision to allow 737-8 and 737-9 MAX airplanes to fly after inspecting the door plug installation without also correcting multiple manufacturing and design issues.

An alarming number of production quality defects and Service Difficulty Reports (safety reports) were precursors to Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 door plug “blowout” accident. Yet, no meaningful action was taken. Boeing’s manufacturing and design flaws continue to occur.

Boeing’s 737 MAX Airplanes still do not comply with legally required engineering design requirements 1 despite two fatal crashes that killed 346 people, an 18-month FAA recertification, a $20 billion loss to the company 2, and felony fraud criminal charges against the company.3 For example, a pilot simply forgetting to turn off the MAX’s Engine Anti-ice System could result in a catastrophic failure of the engine.4 Originally Boeing stated in its petition for exemption, that it would take until June 2026 to develop a compliant design for the 737-7 model. Now after all the public attention on this unsafe condition, Boeing is saying they can do it in nine months for the 737-7 model yet has left unaddressed what they will do for the thousand plus 737-8 and 737-9 airplanes flying passengers today. The MAX fleet operates with this known unsafe condition.

Boeing and the FAA are making the same error they made before the two MAX crashes—failing to conduct an in-depth investigation to identify and fix the root causes. They are kicking the can down the road and once again relying on a single point of failure and hoping for the best.

The Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 accident was the culmination of years of leadership failures at Boeing and the FAA. This accident and the two fatal crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 should have never occurred. Inspecting the plug doors of the 737-9 airplanes and putting them back in the skies before the root causes of widespread manufacturing defects and fleet service difficulty reports have been identified and resolved is nothing short of neglect and contempt for the safety margin. A review of FAA Service Difficulty Reports reveals individual MAX airplanes with concerning reports of aircraft systems malfunctions.

The Foundation for Aviation Safety urges DOT Secretary Buttigieg and FAA Administrator Whitaker to reconsider the safety of the 737 MAX fleet. We are offering to meet with DOT Secretary Buttigieg and FAA Administrator Whitaker to provide advice and recommendations to address critical safety issues on the 737 MAX and the FAA’s challenged oversight system. The Boeing 737 MAX should not continue to fly until all safety issues have been resolved.

[1] FAA Airworthiness Directive, Federal Register, Vol. 88, No. 153, Aug 10, 2023
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2023-08-10/pdf/2023-17197.pdf

[2] New York Times, Boeing Still Recovering From Max 8 Crashes, Faces a New Crisis, Feb 5, 2024
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/05/business/boeing-737-max-uncertainty.html#:~:text=The%20incident%20on%20an%20Alaska,by%20regulators%2C%20airlines%20and%20travelers

[3] CNBC, U.S. judge orders Boeing arraigned on Max fraud charge, Jan 19, 2023
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/19/us-judge-orders-boeing-arraigned-on-max-fraud-charge.html

[4] U.S. News, Boeing Still Hasn’t Fixed This Problem on Max Jets, So It’s Asking for an Exemption to Safety Rules, Jan 5, 2024
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/texas/articles/2024-01-05/boeing-still-hasnt-fixed-this-problem-on-max-jets-so-its-asking-for-an-exemption-to-safety-rules

The Foundation for Aviation Safety
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