WRAPUP 2-Boeing 737 MAX inspections still being held up

A source told Reuters that United Airlines discovered that "closer to 10 than five" aircraft had loose parts used to fasten a panel that exists in lieu of an exit door on certain 737 MAX models. The incident has refocused investor and regulatory attention on Boeing's difficult last few years after a pair of crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed nearly 350 people.

Boeing, the main U.S. air regulator and U.S. airlines were still wrangling over inspection guidelines for 737 MAX 9 planes that would ensure safety lapses are fixed after airlines found several aircraft with loose parts. Alaska Airlines and the other U.S. 737 MAX 9 operator, United Airlines, both said on Monday they had found loose parts on multiple grounded aircraft, raising new concerns among industry experts about how Boeing's best-selling jet family is manufactured and its approval process.

A panel last week blew off an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 plane that had left Portland, Oregon, forcing a dramatic emergency landing with a rectangular-sized hole in the aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded 171 MAX 9 planes on Saturday after the incident, most operated by Alaska and United Airlines, causing numerous cancellations. A source told Reuters that United Airlines discovered that "closer to 10 than five" aircraft had loose parts used to fasten a panel that exists in lieu of an exit door on certain 737 MAX models.

The incident has refocused investor and regulatory attention on Boeing's difficult last few years after a pair of crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed nearly 350 people. Boeing has suffered from numerous production issues since the wider grounding of the 737 MAX family in March 2019 that lasted 20 months.

"Every American deserves a full explanation from Boeing and the FAA on what’s gone wrong and on the steps that are being taken to ensure another incident does not occur in the future," said Republican U.S. Senator J.D. Vance. Industry insiders said airlines have started to hear passengers voice concerns about the safety of the aircraft, even though the MAX 9 in question is used only by a handful of carriers. Boeing executives are set to hold a town hall to address employees on Tuesday afternoon.

Boeing hit revised sales goals in 2023, saying on Tuesday it had delivered 528 planes and booked 1,314 net new orders - the latter a 70% increase from the year-earlier period. However, the company still faces an aggressive timetable for production and it had hoped to resume deliveries to China, a giant market that has been closed to Boeing since 2019. The U.S. FAA could also take a harder line on certifying designs for other models, including required changes to the MAX 7. Boeing wanted an exemption to allow certification before the design changes that analysts say is much less likely now.

FAA head Mike Whitaker, who took the job in October, will testify before Congress next month, sources said, where he could face questions about the regulator's role in the approval of the 737 MAX planes. The hearing was in the works before the incident on the Alaska Airlines flight. The FAA continues to inspect each new 737 MAX before an "airworthiness certificate is issued and cleared for delivery," when it typically delegates the final signoff on individual airplanes to the manufacturer. The FAA did not directly answer questions about how it typically inspects those bolts before approving a plane for service.

The panel that blew off Alaska Air Flight 1282 covers an optional exit door used by airlines that have denser seating configurations. It is fastened in place by fittings at 12 different locations along the side of the plug and the door frame. The Alaska Air plane's panel was recovered on Sunday by a Portland schoolteacher who found it in his backyard. The National Transportation Safety Board "has not yet recovered the four bolts that restrain it from its vertical movement," NTSB engineer Clint Crookshanks told reporters at a briefing in Portland. "And we have not yet determined if they existed there."

As of midday on Tuesday, United had canceled around 200 daily flights, or 8% of its total, while Alaska cancelled 108, or 18%. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said her agency's focus was on the plane involved in the accident, but that it would not hesitate to make broader safety recommendations if needed as its investigation progressed.