{"id":34999,"date":"2026-08-09T19:23:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T14:23:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=34999"},"modified":"2026-08-09T19:23:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T14:23:30","slug":"boeing-737-max-operators-told-to-check-fuselages-for-cracks-boeing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=34999","title":{"rendered":"Boeing 737 Max operators told to check fuselages for cracks | Boeing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The US aviation regulator has ordered inspections of the fuselages of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/boeing\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Boeing<\/a> 737 Max planes for possible cracks in a component.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness directive will affect an estimated 471 aircraft and follows reports of cracks in earlier Boeing models.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The inspections, which will start from September, follow a similar FAA regime for previous Boeing 737 Next Generation models dating back to 2021.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Cracks were found in a component called the bear strap \u2013 sheets supporting the fuselage around the exit doors \u2013 on the older planes. The FAA said on Thursday that no such cracks have yet been found in 737 Max craft but that the similar design and build process makes the model susceptible to developing them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">It added that without action it could \u201clead to the inability of a principal structural element to sustain limit loads and adversely affect the structural integrity of the airplane\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.NewsletterSignupBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-d9bay7\"><gu-island name=\"EmailSignUpWrapper\" priority=\"feature\" deferuntil=\"visible\" props=\"{&quot;index&quot;:5,&quot;listId&quot;:4139,&quot;identityName&quot;:&quot;business-today&quot;,&quot;category&quot;:&quot;article-based&quot;,&quot;description&quot;:&quot;Get set for the working day \u2013 we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Business Today&quot;,&quot;frequency&quot;:&quot;Every weekday&quot;,&quot;theme&quot;:&quot;news&quot;,&quot;illustrationSquare&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/media.guim.co.uk\/e3d43299e85f27e579437406d4cbfb596d9d0c94\/0_0_3000_3000\/500.jpg&quot;,&quot;exampleUrl&quot;:&quot;\/business\/series\/business-today-newsletter\/latest&quot;,&quot;idApiUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/idapi.theguardian.com&quot;}\"><a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"#EmailSignup-skip-link-5\" class=\"dcr-76akua\">skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1tr4stg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-12qa5gp\">\n<hr class=\"dcr-1cjdlyj\"\/>\n<aside aria-label=\"newsletter promotion\" class=\"dcr-11zfjs0\">\n<div class=\"dcr-pspq5\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gx5ko4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-191vl9p\"><default:svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"-3 -3 30 30\" focusable=\"false\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><default:path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M18.364 2H5.636v5.68H3.43L2 9.29l9.048 7.504h1.904L22 9.289 20.571 7.68h-2.207zm-1.819 5.68v-.946h-9.09v.946zm0-3.787h-9.09v.947h9.09zM2 20.58v-8.994l9.048 6.627h1.904L22 11.586v8.994L20.571 22H3.43zM7.455 9.574h9.09v.947h-9.09z\"\/><\/default:svg>Free newsletter | <!-- -->Every weekday<\/div>\n<p class=\"dcr-vf9hps\">Sign up to <span>Business Today<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1r7my33\">Get set for the working day \u2013 we&#8217;ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/media.guim.co.uk\/e3d43299e85f27e579437406d4cbfb596d9d0c94\/0_0_3000_3000\/500.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"dcr-xiq31o\"\/><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"EmailSignup-skip-link-5\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"after newsletter promotion\" role=\"note\" class=\"dcr-76akua\">after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n<p><\/gu-island><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"d324d53a-92c6-4259-893f-25f5c0b7357c\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-1oq85qr\"><gu-island name=\"RichLinkComponent\" priority=\"feature\" deferuntil=\"idle\" props=\"{&quot;richLinkIndex&quot;:6,&quot;element&quot;:{&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement&quot;,&quot;prefix&quot;:&quot;Related: &quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;US air force names eight killed in Boeing B-52 test flight crash in California&quot;,&quot;elementId&quot;:&quot;d324d53a-92c6-4259-893f-25f5c0b7357c&quot;,&quot;role&quot;:&quot;richLink&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jun\/17\/b-52-crash-edwards-air-force-base-victims&quot;},&quot;ajaxUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/api.nextgen.guardianapps.co.uk&quot;,&quot;format&quot;:{&quot;design&quot;:0,&quot;display&quot;:0,&quot;theme&quot;:0}}\"\/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">A Boeing spokesperson said that it had been working with airlines operating 737s for several years, after first identifying and notifying them of the issue in 2019.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cThe FAA airworthiness directive published today mandates the inspections, as it did for the 737 Next Generation,\u201d they said on Thursday. \u201cWe support both directives and continue to support our airline customers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Boeing added that the inspections would provide multiple opportunities to identify and correct problems before any cracks exceed critical length, and it was working through engineering changes to tackle the cause.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Attention on engineering problems on Boeing planes has intensified since the disastrous entry into service of the 737 Max model, whose flaws led to the deaths of hundreds of passengers in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2019\/jun\/17\/boeing-737-max-ethiopian-airlines-crash\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">two crashes<\/a> in 2018 and 2019 before it was grounded worldwide.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">In 2024 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2024\/jan\/12\/alaska-airlines-incident-shows-boeing-still-has-much-to-fix\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">a panel blew out<\/a> of a 737 Max in mid-flight for Alaska Airlines, and concerns about production problems led to Ryanair, its biggest customer for the model, sending engineers to Boeing\u2019s US factories to help to oversee the delivery of the planes it had ordered.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The US aviation regulator has ordered inspections of the fuselages of Boeing 737 Max planes for possible cracks in a component. The Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness directive will affect an estimated 471 aircraft and follows reports of cracks in earlier Boeing models. The inspections, which will start from September, follow a similar FAA regime for&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9fc39392b1c9915fc31f06dbf369e027cf526a44\/0_132_1548_1238\/master\/1548.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&precrop=40:21,offset-x50,offset-y0&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=27dac0672d4dc7624e8fea33e09fbffe","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34999\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}