Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Boeing still working on fix for 106 grounded 737 MAX planes -U.S. FAA

Published 04/22/2021, 10:44 AM
Updated 04/22/2021, 12:50 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Boeing 737 MAX 8 sits outside the hangar during a media tour of the Boeing 737 MAX at the Boeing plant in Renton, Washington

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Boeing 737 MAX 8 sits outside the hangar during a media tour of the Boeing 737 MAX at the Boeing plant in Renton, Washington

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thursday said 106 Boeing (NYSE:BA) 737 MAX airplanes have been grounded worldwide by an electrical issue and said the U.S. planemaker is still working on a fix.

Boeing disclosed an electrical power system issue on April 7 and recommended operators temporarily remove these airplanes from service.

The problem involved the electrical grounding - or connections designed to maintain safety in the event of a surge of voltage - inside a backup power control system. The FAA said Thursday "subsequent analysis and testing showed the issue could involve additional systems."

The FAA said in a formal notice to international air regulators that 106 airplanes are covered, including 71 registered in the United States. "All of these airplanes remain on the ground while Boeing continues to develop a proposed fix," the agency added.

The FAA said Boeing's investigation showed the issue could impact the standby power control unit, a circuit breaker panel and main instrument panel.

The notice said the "FAA expects to issue an airworthiness directive mandating corrective action before further flight for all affected airplanes."

Boeing spokeswoman Jessica Kowal said "we concur with the FAA notice and continue to work closely with the regulator and our customers to address the issue."

The top three U.S. 737 MAX operators - Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV), American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) and United Airlines - removed more than 60 jets from service following the notice from Boeing.

U.S. carriers said they expect the issue will be resolved soon, potentially in the next week or two. American Airlines President Robert Isom said "we have a pretty good idea of exactly what the issue is and the remedies that need to be attended to."

The FAA said other carriers impacted include Cayman Airways, Copa Airlines, GOL Linhas Aereas, Iceland Air, Minsheng Leasing, Neos Air, Shanding Airlines, SilkAir, Spice Jet, Sunwing Airlines, TUI, Turkish Airlines, Valla Jets Limited, WestJet Airlines and Xiamen Airlines.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Boeing 737 MAX 8 sits outside the hangar during a media tour of the Boeing 737 MAX at the Boeing plant in Renton, Washington

The FAA said it "verified all operators with affected airplanes have voluntarily taken those aircraft out of service."

The FAA said the production issue "is not related to recertification of the flight control system on the 737 MAX, ungrounding of the aircraft, or its return to service." Boeing has delivered more than 450 MAX airplanes.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.