FAA Clears Path for Boeing 737 MAX-9 Aircraft to Return to Service, Halts Expansion

Federal air safety regulators granted approval on Wednesday for an inspection process that would allow the return to service of grounded Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft after a serious incident on an Alaska Airlines flight. Mike Whitaker, head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), expressed confidence in the agency’s review of a mid-air door plug blowout incident on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX. The FAA has now greenlit a comprehensive inspection and maintenance process for the aircraft’s return to flight for all 171 grounded Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft. However, the FAA clarified that production expansion for the troubled 737 MAX series would not be permitted. The agency communicated this decision to Boeing on Wednesday....