The Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday (Jan 18) that inspections of an initial group of 40 Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplanes have been completed, a key hurdle to eventually ungrounding the planes after a Jan 5 incident in which a cabin panel broke off in mid-flight on a new Alaska Airlines jet.
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 US watchdogs have completed checks on an initial group of Boeing 737 MAX jets, setting the
00:08 stage for a decision on whether they can return to service.
00:12 The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that inspections had been done on 40 planes.
00:18 Last week it had said that was the number needed before it could decide whether to lift
00:23 an order grounding the aircraft.
00:26 The regulator now says it will "thoroughly review the data" before making a decision.
00:32 Some 171 MAX jets have been taken out of service after a big panel tore off one operated by
00:38 Alaska Airlines.
00:40 No one was seriously injured in the incident, but it revived concerns over a model with
00:46 a troubled history.
00:48 MAX planes were previously grounded over two fatal crashes that were traced to a design
00:53 flaw.
00:55 The reason for the panel blowout remains unknown.
00:58 Investigators at the National Transportation Safety Board are probing records related to
01:03 the part.
01:05 It was made at a factory in Malaysia operated by Boeing supplier Spirit Aerosystems.
01:11 The MAX jets are then finally assembled at the plane maker's facility in Renton, Washington.
01:17 Boeing has since taken steps intended to reassure travellers and its customers.
01:22 That includes allowing airlines to make their own checks on production facilities.
01:27 The moves have so far failed to reassure investors, with Boeing stock down by around a fifth so
01:33 far this year.
01:34 The Boeing 787-400 was a successful flight from Los Angeles to Los Angeles on May 8,
01:41 2016.
01:42 It was a successful flight.
01:43 It was a successful flight.