Approximately 50 Boeing 737 aeroplanes were found to have anomalies in how the fuselage holes were drilled. According to the ABC channel, Stan Deal, the head of Boeing’s Commercial Aeroplanes division, would modify the aircraft.
Deal noted in a letter to staff that several holes in the aircraft fuselage may not have been drilled to the stringent standards required.
Although this potential situation is not an imminent flight safety issue, and all 737 aircraft can still be safely operated, the business anticipates repairing around 50 undelivered planes, according to Deal.
On January 5, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft made an emergency landing in the United States after a portion of the fuselage broke off during flight, causing depressurisation of the passenger cabin. Following the 737 MAX 9 aircraft incident, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered the grounding of 171 similar aircraft for immediate inspection. Alaska Airlines, whose aircraft was involved in the incident, was the first to suspend all 65 Boeing 737 MAX 9 flights.
On January 7, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ordered the suspension of Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft operations, according to Reuters.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has approved a directive from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration of the United States. — Ed.). However, the agency states that no airline from an EU member state presently operates aircraft in the impacted configuration.
Bloomberg reported on January 10 that Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun acknowledged making a mistake with the 737 MAX aeroplane at a meeting with plant staff.
“We’re going to approach this issue number one with the recognition of our mistake. […] I have children, I have grandchildren, and so do you. […] That matters. Every detail matters,” he said.
Boeing’s 737 MAX is one of its most troubled models. Following two crashes, one in Ethiopia in 2018 and another in Indonesia in 2019, which killed 346 people, the operation of such aircraft was halted globally for two years. Boeing stated there was a problem with the aircraft’s manoeuvring characteristics augmentation system before the crashes.
