The American Civil Aviation Regulatory Agency (FAA) has recommended that airlines inspect the doors of their Boeing 737-900ER aircraft after incidents observed on those of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 with a very similar design.
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Companies “are encouraged to conduct visual inspections” to ensure that the doors are not defective, the FAA said in a statement Sunday evening.
The Boeing 737-900ER is an older model than the MAX family, but according to the FAA, it has similarities in door design.
Contacted by AFP, Boeing had not yet made a comment.
This announcement follows the incident that occurred on January 5 during an Alaska Airlines flight during which a door came loose from the cabin of a Boeing 737 MAX 9 which was to connect Portland, Oregon, to Ontario. (California).
Since then, the American civil aviation regulatory agency has ordered 171 of the 218 MAX 9s in circulation to be kept on the ground while an inspection is carried out.
These devices will only return to service when there are no longer any doubts about safety, the FAA said.
Locking certain doors is proposed by Boeing to its customers on the MAX 9 when the number of existing emergency exits is already sufficient in relation to the number of seats in the aircraft.
It was one of these obstructed doors that flew off on the Alaska Airlines flight and the Transportation Safety Agency (NTSB) suggested that the problem was the obstruction panel that was not secured adequately.
