US Aviation Agency Says Boeing 737 MAX Planes May Have Potential Fire Suppression Issue

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a directive on Thursday warning that Boeing's 737 MAX aircraft may have a potential fire suppression issue.

"The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an immediately adopted Airworthiness Directive (AD) for all Boeing 737‑8, 737‑9, and 737‑8200 (MAX) airplanes; and certain Model 737-800 and 737-900ER series airplanes," the agency said in a statement. "This AD addresses potential issues with reduced fire suppression capabilities in the cargo hold of airplanes operating with a failed electronic flow control of the air conditioning packs."

The FAA directive prohibits operators from carrying items in the cargo hold of aircraft that may be experiencing issues with reduced fire suppression capabilities. However, the cargo hold may be able to transport items that are non-flammable and non-combustible, the agency said.

The directive affects some 663 airplanes registered in the United States and about 2,204 other aircraft around the world, the agency said.

Boeing 737 MAX flights were suspended between March 2019 and December 2020 in the United States and across the world due to the deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2018 and 2019. In October 2019, a group of international experts from the Joint Authorities Technical Review JATR revealed significant flaws in the certification of the aircraft, admitted by the company itself and the FAA. According to experts, important information about the maneuvering correction system (MCAS) was not provided in full to the FAA, and the regulator itself gave Boeing excessive powers in the certification process.