Hundreds of Boeing 737 MAX jets face cabin safety risks and assembly flaws, FAA warns

Production quality problems were revealed in early 2024 when a door-plug panel blew out of a nearly new Alaska Air 737 MAX in flight.Follow us on Google A Boeing 737 MAX 8-200 passenger aircraft, operated by Europe's leading low-cost airline Ryanair, takes off from Il Caravaggio International Airport on July 11, 2026 in Orio al Serio, near Bergamo, Italy. (photo credit: Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images)ByREUTERSJULY 28, 2026 08:40The US Federal Aviation Administration said on Monday that seats on hundreds of Boeing 737 MAX jets registered in the US may require inspections in case they were incorrectly installed and needed to be fixed.If not corrected, the seats could injure passengers and crew members during an emergency landing or block the aisle and slow an evacuation, the agency said.The FAA's proposed airworthiness directive issued on Monday would apply to 453 jets registered in the US. The agency only has jurisdiction over US airlines, but foreign regulators typically follow FAA directives if applicable.Nearly 2,300 737 MAX jets are in service around the world, including 823 in the US, according to aviation advisory and intelligence firm IBA.The proposed directive comes as Boeing works to improve its production quality and boost output under CEO Kelly Ortberg.A Boeing 737 MAX 10 fuselage is pictured during the opening ceremony for the company's new North Line assembly line, which will produce 737 MAX aircraft, at the Boeing Everett Factory in Everett, Washington, on July 10, 2026. (credit: JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images)Production quality problems revealed in 2024Production quality problems were revealed in early 2024 when a door-plug panel blew out of a nearly new Alaska Air 737 MAX in flight.The FAA said in the airworthiness directive proposal that it received a report that some passenger seat assemblies were not correctly installed in the seat tracks.That meant the assemblies could disengage from the seat tracks if there was an increased load, turbulence, or an emergency landing, the FAA said.There could be up to 69 track-mounted passenger seat assemblies on each 737 MAX plane, and the issue would take an estimated one work hour to inspect and then an hour to fix each assembly and required no parts, the FAA said. Airlines might be able to have multiple employees inspecting seats simultaneously, greatly reducing the total time for each aircraft.It did not say how quickly airlines would need to correct the issue.A Boeing spokesperson said the planemaker issued guidance to operators about the issue in December 2025."We support the FAA making that guidance mandatory," the spokesperson said in an email.Follow us on Google