FAA Expands Inspections for Boeing 737-900ER Door Plugs

DALLAS — The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has advised operators of Boeing 737-900ER (Extended Range) aircraft to visually inspect the mid-exit door plugs to ensure they are properly secured. The recommendation comes after the grounding of 171 Boeing 737-9 planes due to a mid-air cabin blowout of a door plug on an Alaska Airlines (AS) aircraft.

Specifically, the FAA has issued a 'Safety Alert for Operators' (SAFO), revealing that certain airlines have conducted additional inspections on the mid-exit door plugs of their 737-900ER aircraft and have discovered issues with bolts during maintenance inspections.

The commonality of the Boeing 737-900ER

The Boeing 737-900ER shares the same fuselage length as the -900 variant, except that it has an additional Type II door located behind the wing, much like its descendant, the Boeing 737-9, involved in the AS plug blowout. The additional doors on the -900ER were incorporated to comply with passenger evacuation regulations and allow for a seating capacity of up to 215 passengers if the airline customer chooses to.

The FAA assures that the door plug has not been a problem with the Boeing 737-900ER since its service entry. Production of the -900ER began in 2006, followed by a two-aircraft flight test program that lasted for seven months, starting on September 1, 2006. The FAA certification for the type was obtained on April 26, 2007, and the first aircraft was delivered to Lion Air (JT) the next day.

The Boeing 737 became the first-ever commercial jet airplane to surpass the 10,000-order milestone in July 2012 when United Airlines (UA) ordered 100 737-9s and 50 Next Generation 737-900ERs.

Inspections of the Boeing 737-900ER

Alaska Airlines has stated that it has already begun inspecting its Boeing 737-900ER planes several days ago. So far, the airline has not encountered any issues and anticipates completing inspections on the rest of the type without causing any disruptions to its operations. AS has 79 737-900ERs as per the regulatory filing.

United Airlines (UA) has also confirmed that inspections on its -900ER fleet commenced earlier this week and are expected to be finished in the next few days without impacting their customers. UA has 136 737-900ERs.

Delta Air Lines (DL) operates its Boeing 737-900ER aircraft in a two-class configuration: 20 domestic first-class recliners and 139 economy seats, meaning these aircraft come with mid-exit door plugs. DL has 63 737-900ERs.

As John Ostrower pointedly tweeted out, "The U.S. is the largest single operator market for the -900ER in the world."

This is a developing story.

Featured image: N67845, United Airlines Boeing 737-900ER. Photo: Michael Rodeback/Airways

https://airwaysmag.com/faa-updates-grounding-boeing-737-9/