The American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced in the last few hours the completion of the second round of inspections on 40 B-737 MAX 9 aircraft. This is a first step towards the recommissioning of this aircraft model in America. Last week the agency had in fact ordered further checks on some of the 171 aircraft grounded after the explosion of a door on flight AS1282 on January 5th.

The US agency will "carefully review the data" and convene a committee before deciding whether planes will be able to fly again but there is currently no firm date. In any case, Alaska Airlines and United Airlines, which have completed inspections on all MAX 9s in their fleet, have canceled all flights operated with these aircraft and scheduled until Friday 19 January.

Busy day yesterday to clarify the matter. The leaders of the Boeing Group and the supplier Spirit AeroSystems (which produces and assembles doors and fuselages) have started joint internal audits with employees, while FAA officials were heard in a closed-door briefing by a Senate committee. At the center of all these meetings are the same objectives: identifying responsibilities, solving problems, ensuring safety in air transport. 

On the same topic, see also the article published by AVIONEWS.