Boeing will take up to a year to repair an engine issue on all its beleaguered 737 Max jets, which will delay the certification of its 737 Max 7s and Max 10s.
Boeing has acquired a team of experts to “quickly drive forward a safe and compliant solution” to a glitch that could cause the 737 Max anti-ice system to overheat and damage the engine, the corporation wrote in response to questions from Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois), according to CBS News.
Boeing officials previously said they would have the issue fixed within nine to 12 months, the outlet noted.
“Small changes made to the engine inlet can change the behavior of the air as it enters the engine, impacting engine performance,” the embattled company explained.
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“The solution selection process for the potential overheating issue will require a full understanding of safety and compliance impacts on all systems,” Boeing added.
Although the specific issue has never occurred in-flight, the worst-case scenario could cause components to break off the airplane, CBS reported.
“For the safety of the flying public, I’m relieved that Boeing committed to fixing the known safety defect on-board its 737 MAX 10 before attempting to certify and put yet another flawed aircraft into commercial service,” Duckworth said in a statement to CBS.
“I’m also appreciative that Boeing took my concern with the MAX 7 to heart and agreed to prioritize fixing this safety defect in all MAX aircraft within the next year rather than its original 2026 timeline,” she added.
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“When it comes to the safety of passengers and crew, this fix cannot come soon enough — and I will be closely monitoring Boeing’s efforts to ensure it stays on track to permanently address this safety defect and keep the flying public safe,” the senator concluded.
Boeing got a waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration to continue operating the 737 Max 8s and 9s that are already certified, CBS explained.
Catch up on Boeing’s ongoing airplane fiasco
Boeing has recently been plagued by safety concerns that began Jan. 5 after a door panel blew off a Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet during a flight from Oregon to California. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the plane — which was operated by Alaska Airlines — appeared to be missing four key bolts.
Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, threatened to shun Boeing after the carrier’s fleet of MAX 9 aircraft was grounded in the wake of the near-disastrous Alaska Airlines door blowout.
Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, warned that another midair door blowout like the Boeing 737 MAX 9 fiasco “can happen again,” adding there was a “problem with the process” of production.
Disaster struck again a week after the initial incident when a Boeing plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Japan due to a crack in the cockpit window.
A Boeing 757 lost its front tire as the aircraft was preparing to depart for an international flight in late January. At Atlanta International Airport, a Delta flight bound for Bogota, Colombia, was taxiing across the runway into takeoff position when another plane alerted the control tower that something was amiss.
Later, a UK passenger was alarmed after noticing pieces of tape on the exterior of a Boeing 787 during a flight to India, as seen in shocking photos.
A United Airlines Boeing 777-300 aircraft suffered a midair fuel leak and was forced to make an emergency landing Monday, March 11, marking the fifth incident the airline reported in a little over a week.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary previously said he’s made “loud complaints” to Boeing over quality control.
Whistleblower John Barnett raised safety concerns at the airline’s factories and provided his first testimony at a bombshell lawsuit against Boeing. He was found dead in his truck after he failed to show up for the second part of his testimony on Monday.
The company was initially looking to get similar permission for the Max 7, which was in the process of obtaining its final FAA certification when a door panel blew out of an Alaska Airlines aircraft mid-flight in January.
Boeing withdrew the request after Duckworth demanded that the FAA deny the Max 7 safety waiver.
The company now will not attempt to fully certify the Max 7s and Max 10s until the issue is resolved, CBS said.
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On Tuesday, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby announced that the airline had asked Boeing to stop building the 737 Max 10 planes it had ordered and to focus on building 727 Max 9s instead.
“I think it’s impossible to say when the Max 10 is going to get certified,” Kirby admitted at a J.P. Morgan conference.
“If and when the Max 10 gets certified, we’ll convert them back to Max 10s, but Max 10 is out for us until it’s certified,” he said.
Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines announced this week that it will have to cut its 2024 capacity plans and reevaluate its projected earnings due to the delay in the Max 7 certification, CBS reported.
Southwest operates an all-737 fleet, and had hundreds of Max 7s on order this winter, the outlet noted.
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