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United finds loose bolts on some Boeing 737 MAX planes

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United Airlines has found loose bolts on multiple 737 MAX 9 aircraft, it said on Monday, referring to the Boeing model grounded after a cabin panel blew off an Alaska Airlines-operated (ALK.N) plane in mid-flight Friday.

United found issues related to the installation on several panels that were being inspected following the accident, it said in a statement. The disclosure raises concerns about the production process of 171 Boeing MAX jets, mostly operated by U.S. carriers Alaska and United Airlines, that have been grounded while safety checks are made.

“Since we began preliminary inspections on Saturday, we have found instances that appear to relate to installation issues in the door plug – for example, bolts that needed additional tightening. These findings will be remedied by our Tech Ops team to safely return the aircraft to service,” United said in a statement.

Alaska said it has not yet found any loose bolts because it has not yet started inspections.

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The FAA gave the go-ahead on Monday for airlines to inspect grounded jets using an approved process by Boeing, but both Alaska and United are awaiting another FAA approval before they can begin.

The intensive inspections of the 171 MAX planes may take several days, forcing the cancellation of numerous flights.

The plug closes a hole that could be used for an extra emergency exit door on planes configured with relatively high numbers of seats.

Boeing issued the detailed instructions, approved by the FAA, to air carriers on Monday. Alaska Airlines said on Monday it also needs U.S. regulators to “approve operators’ inspection processes to ensure compliance,” and the airline itself needs to develop “detailed inspection instructions” for its technicians to follow.

PANEL FOUND IN BACKYARD

The panel was recovered on Sunday by a Portland school teacher identified only as “Bob” in the Cedar Hills neighborhood who found it in his backyard, U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy said.

“Our structures team will want to look at everything on the door – all of the components on the door to see, to look at, witness marks, to look at any paint transfer, what shape the door was in when found,” she said.

Boeing and Spirit, which made the panel, have been grappling with ongoing production setbacks over several years.

Of the 171 planes covered by the order, 144 are operating in the United States, data from aviation analytics firm Cirium showed. Turkish Airlines, Panama’s Copa Airlines and Aeromexico said they were grounding affected jets.

With information from Reuters

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