The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday it would allow it Boeing To produce more 737 MAX aircraft by increasing the monthly limit imposed after a The door plug exploded Alaska Airlines plane built by the company.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Boeing can now produce 42 Max jets per month, up from 38, after safety inspectors conducted extensive reviews of the airline’s manufacturing lines to ensure production can be ramped up safely.
The agency had placed a production cap shortly after the horrific January 2024 accident involving an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX. But in practice, production fell well below the ceiling last year as the company faced investigations and a machinist strike that exacerbated the problem. Idle factories For about eight weeks. But Boeing said over the summer that it had reached the monthly cap in the second quarter and would eventually seek FAA permission to start producing more planes.
A Boeing spokesman said Friday that the company followed a “disciplined process” to ensure it was prepared to safely ramp up production, using safety guidelines and performance goals it established with the FAA.
“We appreciate the work our teams, suppliers and the FAA have done to ensure we are prepared to ramp up production while putting safety and quality at the forefront,” Boeing said in a statement.
The FAA also said on Friday that this would not change the way it oversees Boeing’s production operations and its efforts to strengthen the company’s safety culture, adding that FAA inspectors at Boeing plants continued to work through Federal government shutdown Which started on October 1st.
Just last month, The FAA has also been restored Boeing’s ability to conduct final safety checks on the 737 MAX aircraft and certify them for flight. Boeing was not allowed to do so for more than six years, after two crashes of the then-new model killed 346 people. Federal Aviation Administration Take complete control More than 737 MAX approvals in 2019, after the second of Two accidents Which was later blamed on a new software system developed by Boeing for the plane.
Earlier this year, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg faced questions from a Senate committee about the production rate of the 737 MAX, as lawmakers sought reassurances from Ortberg that the company was prioritizing quality and safety over meeting production goals for profit.
“To be very clear, we will not increase production if performance does not indicate a stable production system,” Ortberg said at the April hearing. “We will continue to work to achieve a stable system.”
The incident involving an Alaska Airlines flight that led to a cap on MAX production was among a series of alleged safety violations by Boeing between September 2023 and February 2024 that led to The FAA is seeking $3.1 million In fines from the company.