CBS News reports, “The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered inspections of hundreds of Boeing 737 Max jets after cracks were found in parts of some older model Boeing planes. The FAA Thursday issued fuselage inspections for certain 737 Max 8, 737 Max 9 and 737-8200 models after reports of cracks were discovered in the structural reinforcement around the forward service door near the galley on the right side of some older generation 737 planes.”
Full Story (CBS News)
Tag: Inspections
EASA Orders Urgent Inspections of 16 Airbus A380s Over Wing Crack Concerns
Aerotime reports, “The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has demanded that 16 Airbus A380 aircraft are urgently inspected, including five that must be checked before flying commercially again. On June 22, 2026, EASA issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (2026-0119-E) calling for wing mid spars inspections of 15 A380s operated by Emirates and one by Qantas.”
Full Story (Aerotime)
India Orders Inspections of Fuel Switches on Boeing Jets
BBC News reports, “India’s aviation regulator has ordered the country’s airlines to inspect fuel control switches in Boeing aeroplanes, after their reported involvement in a fatal Air India crash that killed 260 people in June. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the order follows Indian and international airlines already starting to carry out their own checks.”
Full Story (BBC News)
FAA Requiring G500 and G600 Inspections Due to Engine-Mount ‘Quality Escape’
FlightGlobal reports, “The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered inspections of the Gulfstream G500 and G600 fleet in response to a ‘quality escape’ involving improperly installed engine-mounting hardware. In a 7 June airworthiness directive, the agency says it identified issues with Gulfstream’s installation of engines on new production aircraft and with aftermarket engine installations.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)
Elysian Aircraft Aims to Launch Electric Plane by 2033
Aerospace America reports Elysian Aircraft, a Netherlands-based company, is planning to launch a “90-passenger, prop-driven electric plane that would have a range of 800 kilometers” by 2033. The design includes a “fossil fuel turbogenerator in its tail cone to recharge the batteries and power the motors driving the propellers in the event a plane was diverted or delayed.” The key feature is an “unusually wide wingspan” of 43 meters, allowing the batteries to be placed inside the wings, reducing fuselage weight.
Full Story (Aerospace America)
Boeing Revises Guidance for 737 Max Inspections
The New York Times reports, “Federal regulators on Tuesday said Boeing was revising its instructions for how airlines should inspect its 737 Max 9, delaying the manufacturer’s effort to get the jet back in the air after a panel in one of the planes blew out during a flight late last week.” The Federal Aviation Administration said the planemaker “would change the instructions it had released on Monday based on feedback, but the agency did not provide more details.” The FAA said, “Upon receiving the revised version of instructions from Boeing, the F.A.A. will conduct a thorough review. The safety of the flying public, not speed, will determine the timeline for returning the Boeing 737-9 Max to service.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription Publication)
Pratt & Whitney-Powered A320neo Groundings Start as FAA-Required Inspections Begin
Aviation Week reports that groundings of Pratt & Whitney-powered Airbus A320neos “are climbing fast as operators remove engines for accelerated inspections recommended by the manufacturer and mandated by regulators.” The percentage of the PW1100G-powered Airbus fleet “on the ground stood at 19% at the end of September, or 267 aircraft out of 1,378 in the global fleet, an Aviation Week analysis shows.” The figure “is a 6% jump compared to August 31’s figure of 175 aircraft out of 1,358, the data show.” Mandates issued “by the FAA and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) gave affected operators until late September to remove the first batch of engines flagged for inspections.” The initial batch “consisted of about 140 engines, Pratt said when it unveiled its fleet management plan to address potential cracks in certain high-pressure turbine disks and high-pressure compressor integrally bladed rotors (IBR).
Full Story (Aviation Week)
FAA Orders Inspections of 20 Pratt & Whitney GTF Engines
AP reported that “U.S. regulators are requiring immediate inspections and possible repairs to Pratt & Whitney engines on some Airbus passenger jets because of a manufacturing problem that could cause parts to wear out sooner than expected.” The FAA said it would “require ultrasonic inspections of 20 engines on U.S.-registered planes within 30 days. The same flaw affects 202 engines worldwide.” The new FAA rule “replaces a directive from October, which told aircraft operators to have the engines checked at their next shop visit, and followed a disclosure last month by Pratt that about 200 engines around the world would need quick inspections and potential replacement of engine disks.”
Full Story (Associated Press)
NASA Sends Astronauts on Spacewalk to Upgrade Solar Power of ISS
Aviation Week reported that NASA pressed ahead “with upgrades to the solar power generation system aboard the International Space Station (ISS) with a Dec. 3 spacewalk by astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio for the installation of the third of six planned Roll Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs).”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
NTSB Recommends Bell 407 Inspections after Inflight Failure
Aviation Week reported that the National Transportation Safety Board, “citing the risk of a catastrophic inflight failure, is urgently recommending U.S. and Canadian regulators require ‘immediate and more frequent inspections’ of certain Bell 407 helicopter components.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)