NEW YORK, Jan 25, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - US regulators approved a detailed
inspection framework that would allow the return to service of Boeing 737 MAX
planes grounded after an emergency landing earlier this month, officials said
Wednesday.

Shortly after the Federal Aviation Administration announced inspection
protocols on the Boeing 737 MAX 9, United Airlines said it expects grounded
aircraft to return to service starting Sunday.

"We will only return each MAX 9 aircraft to service once this thorough
inspection process is complete," said a statement from Toby Enqvist, United's
chief operations officer.

"We are preparing aircraft to return to scheduled service beginning on
Sunday."

The FAA announcement is a major step after the agency grounded 171 MAX 9
planes following the January 5 incident on an Alaska Airlines plane.

The grounded 737 MAX jets have the same configuration as the Alaska Airlines
jet that suffered a blowout of a panel on the fuselage, exposing passengers
to open air and necessitating an emergency landing.

No one was injured in the incident, but safety inspectors have said it could
have been catastrophic.

Under the FAA's "enhanced maintenance" process, airlines will undertake an
inspection of specific bolts and fittings, detailed visual inspections of
plugs and components and address "any damage or abnormal conditions"
associated with the part, known as a door plug, the FAA said.

The inspection will ensure parts are "in compliance with the original design
which is safe to operate," the FAA said. "This aircraft will not operate
until the process is complete and compliance with the original design is
confirmed."

In a statement published later Wednesday, Boeing pledged "to cooperate fully
and transparently with the FAA and follow their direction."

It added: "We will also work closely with our airline customers as they
complete the required inspection procedures to safely return their 737-9
airplanes to service."

- Production hikes halted -

The latest 737 MAX incident was the first major in-flight safety issue on a
Boeing plane since two fatal 737 MAX crashes -- one in 2018 and one in 2019 -
- led to a nearly two-year grounding of the aircraft.

The FAA has described the January 5 near-miss as unacceptable, vowing a heavy
program of oversight of Boeing and its operations.

The US agency will not permit Boeing to boost output on the MAX until "we are
satisfied that the quality control issues uncovered during this process are
resolved," said FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker in Wednesday's statement.

Earlier Wednesday, Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun ventured to Capitol
Hill to discuss the episode.

"We fly safe planes," Calhoun told reporters ahead of a private meeting at
the Senate Commerce Committee.

"I'm here today in the spirit of transparency to number one recognize the
seriousness" of the issue, and to "answer all their questions because they
have a lot of them," he said.

Also Wednesday, the Seattle Times published a detailed update on the probe,
based on a whistleblower who said that the panel that blew off was removed
for repair at Boeing's Renton, Washington plant and reinstalled improperly.

Moreover the work on the door plug was not recorded properly in Boeing's
systems, which meant it wasn't formally inspected before the plane was handed
over to the customer, according to the Seattle Times report.

Boeing said it was unable to comment on the Seattle Times report, referring
questions to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is
probing the incident.

- Senate hearings ahead -

An NTSB investigator is scheduled to return to Renton on Friday as part of
building a "timeline from the early stages of production of the door plug to
the accident flight," said an NTSB spokesperson.

As part of the investigative process, the NTSB will review documentation
related to the airplane, including production, manufacturing and maintenance.

Following a meeting with Calhoun, Senator Maria Cantwell, a Washington
Democrat who chairs the committee, said she planned hearings to investigate
the "root causes of these safety lapses," according to a statement.

"The American flying public and Boeing line workers deserve a culture of
leadership at Boeing that puts safety ahead of profits," Cantwell said.