
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>The Federal Aviation Administration&nbsp;<a href="https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-halts-boeing-max-production-expansion-improve-quality-control-also-lays-out-extensive" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a>&nbsp;Wednesday a pathway toward resumed flights for Boeing 737 Max 9 jets, but it won’t allow Boeing to expand production of the planes after a hole was blown into the side of an Alaska Airlines flight using one of the jets earlier this month, prompting temporary groundings and thorough inspections from the FAA.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Boeing will be prohibited from expanding production of its Max jets, including the 737-9 Max model, under the order from the FAA on Wednesday.</p>



<p>The FAA also said it approved an inspection and maintenance process that will be performed on all of the 171 grounded Boeing 737-9 Max planes, which if successful, will make the aircraft eligible to return to service.</p>



<p>The inspection and maintenance process was approved after the FAA reviewed data collected from inspections on 40 grounded planes.</p>



<p>Maintenance performed on the aircraft will involve inspection of exit door plugs and parts associated with them, bolts, guide tracks and the correction of damage.</p>



<p>FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in a statement that the extensive review of the planes wouldn’t mark a return to “business as usual for Boeing.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>The National Transportation Safety Board is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2024/01/09/investigators-will-probe-if-alaska-airlines-737-maxs-door-panel-was-securely-bolted/?sh=1f28f5fd6228">investigating</a>&nbsp;whether or not the door panel that blew off the Alaska Airlines flight was properly bolted before takeoff. Investigators have found the plane’s plug door but have yet to recover the bolts associated with it. The FAA recommended this week that airlines inspect door plugs on Boeing 737-900ER aircraft, a different model from the one involved in the Alaska Airlines incident. The agency, which said the 737-900ER’s door plugs “have an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2024/01/22/faa-asks-airlines-to-inspect-door-plugs-on-boeing-737-900er-planes/?sh=7222a8fafe91">identical door plug design</a>” to the Max 9, asked airlines to inspect four points where a bolt is used to secure the door to the airframe of the 737-900ER.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2024/01/22/faa-asks-airlines-to-inspect-door-plugs-on-boeing-737-900er-planes/?sh=7222a8fafe91">FAA Asks Airlines To Inspect Door Plugs On Boeing 737-900ER Planes</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>


British Airways Retires First Of Its Last 747 Jumbo Jets

FAA Clears Way For Boeing 737 Max 9s To Potentially Resume Flying—But Prohibits Increased Production


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>The Federal Aviation Administration announced Thursday it’s investigating whether Boeing failed to ensure its planes were safe for flying after a a “plug” door fell off a 737 Max 9 plane flying from Portland, Oregon.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>The FAA&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/FAANews/status/1745491519266542047" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;it notified Boeing of the investigation, saying it was prompted by the Alaska Airlines 1282 flight, where a “plug” type passenger door blew off the Boeing Model 737 Max 9 plane mid-air, prompting an emergency landing.</p>



<p>Every Boeing 737 Max 9 with a “plug” door has been grounded since Saturday.</p>



<p>The FAA said that the “incident should have never happened and it cannot happen again.”</p>



<p>In a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.boeing.com/737-9-updates/index.page" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>&nbsp;Thursday, Boeing said it would cooperate “fully and transparently” in both the FAA investigation and an ongoing National Transportation Safety Board investigation.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Safety concerns regarding Boeing’s 737 Max 9 planes have continued since the Jan. 5 incident. Both Alaska Airlines and United Airlines—the two U.S. airlines that use the 737 Max 9 planes—have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/no-data-captured-alaska-airlines-737-cockpit-voice-recorder-ntsb-chair-2024-01-08/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>&nbsp;finding loose parts on grounded Max 9 aircraft. And Wednesday, Alaska Airlines&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2024/01/10/alaska-airlines-cancels-all-boeing-737-max-9-flights-this-week-after-hole-blown-into-plane-during-flight/?sh=6d5a18062273">canceled</a>&nbsp;all flights using Boeing 737 Max 9 planes, awaiting instruction from the FAA. It represents the latest major safety setback for Boeing, which garnered international scrutiny in 2019, two Boeing 737 Max 8 planes were involved in fatal crashes within the span of less than a year. The National Transportation Safety Board is also conducting an investigation into the Alaska Airlines incident, and has since&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2024/01/08/jet-door-blown-off-alaska-airlines-plane-is-found-in-oregon-schoolteachers-backyard/?sh=2aa3337e2d43">found</a>&nbsp;the plane door, which landed in an Oregon school teacher’s backyard.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">TANGENT</h2>



<p>Elon Musk has used the Boeing incident to continue his attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion corporate policies, implying without evidence on X in recent days that the plane-maker’s pursuit of diversity may have made air travel less safe. The posts drew <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/elon-musk-boeing-dei-diversity-x-posts-pilots-rcna133351" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rebuke</a> from civil rights groups.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">WHAT WE DON’T KNOW</h2>



<p>When the grounding of Boeing planes with “plug” doors may end. The FAA said in its Jan. 9 announcement that “the safety of the flying public, not speed, will determine the timeline for returning the Boeing 737-9 Max to service.”</p>


US-AVIATION-BOEING

Boeing Under Investigation For 737 Max 9


<p><a href="https://policies.google.com/privacy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a>TOPLINE Boeing’s board of directors agreed Friday to pay the company hundreds of millions of dollars and impose new safety measures, closing out a lawsuit brought by Boeing shareholders that began after two crashes of the latest version of its best-selling passenger jet killed hundreds of people and caused regulators to ground the jet worldwide.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>The proposed settlement — which a Delaware state judge&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/boeing-board-to-add-safety-expert-make-other-changes-in-737-max-settlement-11636150675" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">still needs to approve</a>&nbsp;— comes more than a year after New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and the Fire and Police Pension Association of Colorado&nbsp;<a href="https://www.osc.state.ny.us/press/releases/2020/08/new-york-state-comptroller-dinapoli-fire-and-police-pension-association-colorado-announce-appointment" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sued</a>&nbsp;Boeing’s directors.</p>



<p>As part of the settlement, members of Boeing’s board of directors agreed to pay $237.5 million directly to the company — a sum that will come from the directors’ insurers — according to a copy of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.osc.state.ny.us/files/press/pdf/stipulation-of-settlement-boeing.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">agreement</a>&nbsp;released Friday evening by DiNapoli’s office.</p>



<p>Boeing will also hire an ombudsperson to serve as a “neutral third party” to handle any concerns from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/designees_delegations/delegated_organizations/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">company employees</a>&nbsp;who work with the Federal Aviation Administration.</p>



<p>The board of directors will add a new member with experience in “aviation/aerospace, engineering, and/or product safety oversight,” and moving forward, it’s expected to ensure at least three board members have a background in those areas.</p>



<p>The settlement agreement noted the defendants “have denied and continue to deny” any allegations of wrongdoing.</p>



<p>Boeing told&nbsp;<em>Forbes&nbsp;</em>in a statement the company has already “taken significant actions to reinforce and strengthen our commitment to aviation safety,” and said the settlement “builds on those actions with additional oversight and governance reforms.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



<p>“This settlement will send an important message that directors cannot shortchange public safety and other mission-critical risks,” DiNapoli, whose office oversees New York’s pension fund for government employees, said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.osc.state.ny.us/press/releases/2021/11/nys-comptroller-dinapoli-and-fire-and-police-pension-association-colorado-statements-proposed" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement Friday</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Boeing’s first 737 MAX entered service in <a href="https://www.boeing.com/company/about-bca/washington/737max-1st-delivery-05-17-17.page" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2017</a>, the latest iteration of the company’s best-selling plane, which first flew in 1967. But the new version of the plane was grounded worldwide and deliveries halted after the crash of a MAX jet in Ethiopia in March 2019, which came five months after a crash in Indonesia.The crashes, which killed 346 people, were <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/18/magazine/boeing-737-max-crashes.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">blamed on</a> a faulty addition to the flight control system that hinged on a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/01/business/boeing-737-max-crash.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">single sensor</a>, causing the planes to pitch downward if it sensed that the plane’s angle of attack was too high. The FAA eventually cleared the MAX to return to service <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/11/18/boeing-737-max-cleared-to-fly-again-after-nearly-two-years/?sh=1ffba36b704e">late last year</a>. But DiNapoli and the Colorado pension plan argued the disaster was linked to a broader lack of attention to safety by board members, who they <a href="https://www.osc.state.ny.us/press/releases/2020/08/new-york-state-comptroller-dinapoli-fire-and-police-pension-association-colorado-announce-appointment" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">claimed</a> “breached their fiduciary duties to the company by dismantling Boeing’s lauded safety-engineering corporate culture in favor of what became a financial-engineering corporate culture.” The two shareholders <a href="https://www.osc.state.ny.us/press/releases/2020/08/new-york-state-comptroller-dinapoli-fire-and-police-pension-association-colorado-announce-appointment" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">served as lead plaintiffs</a> in a lawsuit filed against the board <a href="https://www.osc.state.ny.us/files/press/pdf/stipulation-of-settlement-boeing.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">on Boeing’s behalf</a>, an arrangement known as a “derivative lawsuit.”</p>



<p><strong><em>By <meta charset="utf-8">Joe Walsh, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Boeing Directors Settle Shareholder Lawsuit Over 737 MAX Crashes For $237.5 Million


<p><strong><span class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">Topline</span></strong>: After 20 long and turbulent months of being grounded, the Boeing 737 MAX is ready to take off into the skies as it gets approval to return to commercial service, says the U.S.  Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Wednesday, November 18.  This follows after The Boeing Company had to suspend the services of the airplanes due to the crash of Ethiopian Airline’s Boeing 737 MAX in March 2019.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong><span class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">Key Facts</span></strong></h4>



<ul><li>The FAA released a<em> </em><a href="https://www.faa.gov/foia/electronic_reading_room/boeing_reading_room/media/737_RTS_Summary.pdf"><em>comprehensive and methodical safety review process</em></a><em> </em>report on Wednesday that took 20 months to complete. The report is to address the safety issues regarding the plane.&nbsp;</li><li>Boeing 737 MAX was grounded in March 2019 when 346 lives were lost within a five-month timeline.&nbsp;</li><li>On October 29, 2018, a Lion Air&nbsp; Boeing 737 MAX crashed after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia. 13 minutes after takeoff, Flight 610 crashed killing 189 people.</li><li>Five months later, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed shortly after take-off on March 10 killing all 149 people on board.&nbsp;</li><li>This led to many big airlines having to ground their Boeing 737 Max planes due to safety concerns. This included the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) who ordered all Chinese airlines to ground their Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets a day after the fatal Ethiopian crash. American Airlines, Comair Airways, and Ethiopian Airlines are just to name a few that also made the decision to ground their 737s.&nbsp;</li><li>“Throughout our transparent process, we cooperated closely with our foreign counterparts on every aspect of the return to service. Additionally, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson personally took the recommended pilot training and piloted the Boeing 737 MAX, so he could experience the handling of the aircraft firsthand,” the FAA statement read.&nbsp;</li><li>This stamp of approval allows airlines that are under the FAA&#8217;s jurisdiction to take the necessary steps to resume services.&nbsp;</li></ul>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong><span class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">Crucial Numbers</span></strong></h4>



<p>According to <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/17/business/boeing-737-max-grounding-cost/index.html">CNN</a>, Boeing stated that this longest grounding in commercial aviation history has cost the company $20 Billion. This includes $8.6 billion to compensate customers who had their planes grounded, $5 billion for unusual costs of production, and $6.3 billion for increased costs of the 737 Max program.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong><span class="has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color">Crucial Quote</span></strong></h4>



<p>&#8220;We will never forget the lives lost in the two tragic accidents that led to the decision to suspend operations,&#8221; said David Calhoun, chief executive officer of The Boeing Company. &#8220;These events and the lessons we have learned as a result have reshaped our company and further focused our attention on our core values of safety, quality, and integrity.&#8221;</p>


Tag: Boeing 737 MAX

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

FAA Clears Way For Boeing 737 Max 9s To Potentially Resume Flying—But Prohibits Increased Production

Boeing Under Investigation For 737 Max 9

Boeing Directors Settle Shareholder Lawsuit Over 737 MAX Crashes For $237.5 Million

Boeing 737 MAX Gets Approval To Fly Again After Almost 2 Years of Suspended Services