FAA nod for 737 Max: Two years after door plug incident, Boeing allowed to hike production; max output limit 42 per month

Boeing on Friday received a green light from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to increase monthly production of its 737 Max aircraft, following reviews and inspections.The plane maker can now make 42 jets per month, up from the previous limit of 38. The cap had been introduced after a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines plane in January 2024, sparking renewed concerns about Boeing’s safety standards.Although the FAA set the limit last year, Boeing’s actual production fell below the ceiling for a long stretch. Investigations and a machinists’ strike, which halted work for almost eight weeks, slowed output.

By the second quarter of this year, however, Boeing reached the cap and signalled it would ask regulators for permission to produce more.A Boeing spokesperson said the company had followed a “disciplined process” to make sure it was ready to scale up safely, working in line with the guidelines and performance goals that it agreed on with the FAA.“We appreciate the work by our team, our suppliers and the FAA to ensure we are prepared to increase production with safety and quality at the forefront,” Boeing said in a statement cited by AFP.

The FAA stressed that its decision does not mean reduced oversight. Inspectors will continue to monitor Boeing’s factories, and their work has carried on even during the US government shutdown that began on October 1.The agency recently restored Boeing’s authority to carry out final safety inspections on 737 Max jets and issue flight certificates, something it was not allowed to do for more than six years. The FAA assumed control of approvals in 2019 after two fatal crashes of the then-new model killed 346 people.

Investigators later blamed a software system created by Boeing for the accidents.Boeing’s production plans have also been under political scrutiny. Earlier this year, CEO Kelly Ortberg appeared before a Senate committee, where lawmakers pressed him on whether safety was being prioritised over profit, AFP reported."Just to be very clear, we won’t ramp up production if the performance isn’t indicating a stable production system," Ortberg said during a hearing in April. “We will continue to work on getting to a stable system.”The Alaska Airlines incident was one of several alleged safety breaches at Boeing between September 2023 and February 2024. The FAA is seeking $3.1 million in fines from the company over these violations.