Factbox: What airlines, regulators have done about Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets

Copa Holdings

25/03/2024 14:34

(Adds details about CEO and commercial division head stepping
down)
       March 25 (Reuters) - 
    Boeing Co  BA.N  CEO Dave Calhoun and commercial airplanes
head Stan Deal will 
    step down
     in a management shake-up that follows intense regulatory
scrutiny into safety issues with its top-selling 737 MAX jets.
  
        The FAA had temporarily 
    grounded
     171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes after a panel flew off an
Alaska Airlines  ALK.N  jet shortly after takeoff on Jan. 5.
  
        Here is what regulators and airlines are doing as a
result of the incident:

    AIRLINES WITH THE AFFECTED PANEL:
    ALASKA AIRLINES 
    The airline grounded all 65 of its Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes
and cancelled hundreds of flights after the incident.
    It said on Jan. 8 that initial reports from its technicians
indicated some "loose hardware" was visible on some aircraft in
the relevant area. 
    Fifty-seven of 65 grounded Alaska Airlines jets have resumed
flying as of Feb. 5, according to the FAA. Alaska Airlines had
said it expected inspections to be completed over the course of
the following week after the FAA gave the green light to the
resumption of MAX 9 flights. 

    UNITED AIRLINES  UAL.O 
    The only other U.S. airline operating the jets that
suspended service on all 79 of its 737 MAX 9 aircraft. 
    The carrier said on Jan. 8 its preliminary checks found
bolts that needed tightening on several panels. 
    After receiving final approval from the FAA to complete the
process to return its 79 MAX 9 fleet to service, 78 of the 79
United Airlines have returned to flying as of Feb. 5, according
to the FAA.
    The company has 100 MAX deliveries scheduled for this year,
according to a regulatory filing in October. 

    COPA AIRLINES
    The Panamanian carrier said on Jan. 9 that 21 Boeing 737 MAX
9 planes remained grounded while authorities and the
manufacturer defined inspection instructions.

    AEROMEXICO
    The airline said on Jan. 12 that the 19 Boeing 737 MAX 9
jets in its fleet remained grounded awaiting inspection.
    Aeromexico added it had launched a flexible flight-change
policy for affected travellers, but did not specify how many
flights had been cancelled. 

    TURKISH AIRLINES
    The airline said on Jan. 7 it had withdrawn five 737 MAX 9
aircraft from service for inspection. 

    REGULATORS:
    U.S. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA)
    The FAA allowed MAX 9 planes to resume flying after
inspections were completed. It said on Feb. 5 that nearly all
planes had been inspected and returned to service since the
emergency. The regulator had launched a formal investigation
into the aircraft on Jan. 11.
    In an unprecedented move that came with the approval to
return planes to service in January, the FFA had also barred
Boeing from expanding production, following "unacceptable"
quality issues.
        An expert panel the administration appointed to review
the planemaker's safety management processes found on Feb. 26 a
"disconnect" between Boeing's senior management and employees on
safety culture. 
    The report was directed by the U.S. Congress originally
after two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that
killed 346 people. The door panel blowout "amplified the expert
panel's concerns."

    U.S. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD (NTSB)
    The independent U.S. agency opened an investigation into the
incident, and it appointed International Associations of
Machinists and Aerospace workers (IAM) to the investigation.
    On Feb. 6 it released a report that said that a door panel
that flew off a Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet mid-flight on Jan. 5
appeared to be missing four key bolts.
    The door plug panel was manufactured by Spirit AeroSystems,
a former Boeing subsidiary, NTSB said. It had arrived at
Boeing's assembly plant in Renton, Washington on Aug. 31, 2023.
    The report shows the panel had to be removed at Boeing's
factory before being reinstalled. 
    Previously, the NTSB had also said the plane's cockpit voice
recorder was overwritten, renewing long-standing calls for
longer in-flight recordings.
    
    BRAZIL
    Brazil's aviation regulator ANAC said on Jan. 7 the FAA
ruling automatically applies to all flights in Brazil.
    In Brazil, only Copa Airlines operates the plane, it said. 

    BRITAIN
    The UK Civil Aviation Authority said on Jan. 6 that no
UK-registered planes were affected. It will require any 737 MAX
9 operators entering its airspace to comply with the FAA
directive.

    CHINA
    Chinese airlines do not have the MAX 9 model in their fleet,
only MAX 8 which do not have the panel involved in the Alaska
Airlines incident.
    China's foreign ministry said on Jan. 25 that Boeing has
permission to resume deliveries of its 737 MAX 8 to Chinese
customers as authorities completed a design approval of the
aircraft.

    EUROPEAN UNION
    The EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) adopted the FAA
directive, but noted no EU member state airlines operate
aircraft with the affected configuration.

    INDIA
    India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on
Jan. 8 that one-time inspections it had ordered of 737 MAX 8
aircraft had been performed satisfactorily. None of the
country's airlines fly the MAX 9 model.

    INDONESIA
    Indonesia temporarily grounded three MAX 9 planes operated
by Lion Air on Jan. 6, a transport ministry spokesperson said,
adding that the planes had different configurations from the
Alaska Airlines plane.

    PANAMA
    Panama's civil aviation authority said on Jan. 11 it had
grounded 21 of Copa Airlines' 737 MAX 9 planes. The carrier has
29 in its fleet, but only 21 have the affected panel.

    SOUTH KOREA
    South Korea's transport ministry said on Jan. 11 it will
conduct inspections of maintenance procedures of the country's
airlines operating 737 MAX 8 aircraft.
    The ministry said five South Korean airlines operate 14 MAX
8 airplanes. This comes after the ministry said no problems had
been detected after inspections on Jan. 9. 

    TURKEY
    Turkey's Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Jan. 8
noted the FAA's actions and said it was coordinating with
stakeholders regarding affected aircraft belonging to airlines
in Turkey and those using Turkish airspace.
    UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
    The civil aviation said on Jan. 7 that none of its national
carriers have planes affected by the order.

    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
US FAA extends Boeing MAX 9 grounding for new safety checks   
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N3E3037
TIMELINE-Boeing's ongoing 737 MAX crisis     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N3DW0J7
EXPLAINER-What is the panel that blew off a Boeing plane in
midair?     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N3DX0CI
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
 (Reporting by Reuters bureaus
Compiled by Josephine Mason, Marleen Käsebier, Luca Fratangelo,
Lisa Barrington and Kylie Madry
Editing by Matthew Lewis, Milla Nissi,  Miral Fahmy and Chizu
Nomiyama)
 ((Josephine.Mason@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 7695; Reuters
Messaging: josephine.mason.reuters.com@reuters.net))