FAA directive orders inspection of hundreds of Boeing 737 Max jets | Hundreds of Boeing 737 Max jets need to be inspected for structural integrity issues, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered Thursday.
The new airworthiness directive impacts three 737 Max models — the Max 8, Max 8-200 and Max 9 — amounting to around 470 planes, CNN reported. The FAA issued its decision after receiving reports that some airplanes had cracks near one of the galley door cutouts.
The directive, beginning Sept. 10, will require inspection of the bear strap, as well as the fuselage skin — the exterior circular body of the plane that spans between the cockpit and the tail.
The FAA said the cracks could lead to an “unsafe condition on in-service airplane,” though it has not ordered the grounding of 737 Maxes.
“The FAA determined that the [directive’s] required actions and compliance times provide an acceptable level of safety,” the order reads.
However, if a crack were to go undetected, the directive states the damage may lead to “the inability of the principal structural element to sustain limit loads and adversely affect the structural integrity of the airplane.”
Boeing told The Hill it identified and reported the issue to the FAA, saying that it has been working with operators on it over the past six years.
“In 2019, Boeing notified operators of 737NG airplanes of the issue and with detailed instructions for conducting the recommended inspections. The FAA subsequently mandated those inspections in an Airworthiness Directive in 2021,” the company stated.
It noted the issue has not been observed on the 737 MAX fleet but since the airplanes share a similar design and build process, Boeing extended the inspections to the aircrafts. The company said it supports both directives and continues to support its airline customers.
The FAA first proposed a rule regarding the 737 Max cracks in November 2025, which the aerospace company supported without change.
Following the proposal, the Foundation for Aviation Safety sent in an additional comment asking what both the FAA and Boeing were doing to address the root cause of the defect. Thursday’s directive clarifies that Boeing “is introducing changes to the manufacturing process that address” the structural reason behind the defect.
On July 27, the FAA proposed another directive that would require the inspection of seat assemblies on the same Boeing 737 Max following reports of faulty seat installations, though it has not yet been enacted. In emergency landing scenarios, the proposal states, these seats could potentially dislodge and injure occupants.
Regulatory aviation agents have placed additional focus on the jet since January 2024, when a door plug flew off of an Alaska Airlines 737 Max while it was 14,830 feet in the air. After the incident, the FAA placed a cap on the number of these planes Boeing could produce — which it slightly increased in October 2025.
In 2025, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended that Boeing modify the engines on 737 Max planes due to two previous bird strike incidents — 2023 flights in Havana, Cuba, and New Orleans.
FAA directive orders inspection of hundreds of Boeing 737 Max jets | The Hill
