US FAA recommends inspection of door latches on Boeing 737-900ER aircraft

Earlier this month, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft after an Alaska Airlines plane suffered a mid-flight fuselage breakup. The plane had been in service for just eight weeks before the incident.

The FAA said the Boeing 737-900ER is not part of the new MAX fleet, but has the same door latch design. Therefore, on January 21, the agency issued an “Operator Safety Alert.”

Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft at the manufacturing plant in Renton, Washington (USA). (Photo: AFP/VNA)

The FAA notice said some airlines conducted additional inspections of the emergency exit latches in the mid-fuselage area of the 737-900ER "and discovered bolt deficiencies during maintenance inspections."

In response to the move, a Boeing spokesperson affirmed that the company always supports the FAA and customers as comprehensively as possible to overcome these errors.

The Boeing 737-900ER has more than 11 million operating hours and 3.9 million flight cycles. While the FAA has confirmed that the door latch is not a problem with the aircraft, it still encourages airlines to conduct visual inspections to ensure there are no errors.

In Boeing's design, the 737-900 and MAX 9 aircraft will be equipped with an additional door stop or an additional emergency exit if the airline wants to install additional seats for passengers.

(Source: Tin Tuc Newspaper)

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