Boeing hit with new 737 Max safety controversy

Aerospace giant Boeing has been ordered to check thousands of planes following concerns about a possibly faulty part.

Boeing has been ordered to check the fleet of one of its models following concerns about potentially defective oxygen masks.

The Federal Aviation Administration in the US has advised the aircraft manufacturer to immediately check its American fleet of 737 Max and Next Generation models amid fears the masks could fail in an emergency.

Boeing is embroiled in a new safety fear. Picture: AFP

There are concerns about oxygen masks on Boeing planes.

Sky News reports that Boeing has been told to conduct visual inspections of the aircraft and, if necessary, “perform any corrective actions... within 120 to 150 days”.

It came after the FAA received reports that some passenger service unit oxygen generators had moved out of position, meaning air supply could possibly be limited in a depressurisation event.

The company confirmed some of the oxygen generators had moved out of place after the introduction of a new adhesive to the straps in 2019.

“We have gone back to the original adhesive for all new deliveries to ensure the generators remain firmly in place, as intended,” Boeing said in a statement.

It also stressed investigations had not identified any units that had failed to operate.

The latest issue adds to Boeing’s growing controversies scrutiny for Boeing, after the aerospace organisation agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge in an investigation over two fatal crashes.

BOEING PLEADS GUILTY TO CRIMINAL FRAUD

Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and will pay a criminal fine of $US243.6m ($AU360m).

The company was found to have violated a deal meant to reform it after two fatal crashes by its 737 Max planes that killed 346 passengers and crew in 2018 and 2019.

However, lawyers representing the relatives of those on board the fatal Lion Air flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 accused the federal government of cooking up “another sweetheart plea deal” with Boeing.

Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun. Picture: AFP

The US Justice Department told relatives of some of the 346 people who died in the crashes about the plea offer during an earlier video meeting, according to Mark Lindquist, one of the lawyers representing families.

During the meeting, one family member said the prosecutors were gaslighting the families; another shouted at them for several minutes when given a chance to speak, the New York Post said.

“We are upset. They should just prosecute,” Nadia Milleron, whose 24-year-old daughter, Samya Stumo, died in the second of two 737 Max crashes, said. “They are saying we can argue to the judge.”

Clariss Moore holds a photograph of her daughter Danielle Moore and stands with other family members of those killed in the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and Lion Air Flight 610. Picture: Getty

Family members of those killed in the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and Lion Air Flight 610 crashes hold photographs of their loved ones as Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun arrives for a hearing on June 18. Picture: Getty

The meeting came weeks after prosecutors told a federal judge that the American aerospace giant breached a January 2021 deal that had protected Boeing from criminal prosecution in connection with the crashes in Indonesia and in Ethiopia.

For months, Boeing has been dealing with production problems in three commercial jets - the 737 MAX, the 787 Dreamliner and the 777.

The company has been in crisis mode since a 737 MAX flown by Alaska Airlines was forced to make an emergency landing in January after a fuselage panel blew out.

Boeing has undertaken training programs and other initiatives to boost quality control and reassure the Federal Aviation Administration. Many of these efforts centre on the IAM-represented Boeing factory in Renton, Washington where the MAX is built.

Boeing 737 MAX aircraft being assembled at the Boeing Renton Factory in Renton, Washington. Picture: AFP

Along with another union at Boeing, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), the IAM has sought two seats on Boeing’s board of directors, an effort Boeing opposes.

A conviction could jeopardise Boeing’s status as a federal contractor, according to some legal experts. The company has large contracts with the Pentagon and NASA.

By pleading guilty, Boeing will avoid the spectacle of a criminal trial - something that victims’ families have been pressing for.

The company has been in crisis over its safety record since two near-identical crashes involving 737 Max aircraft in 2018 and 2019. It led to the global grounding of the plane for more than a year.

In 2021, prosecutors charged Boeing with one count of conspiracy to defraud regulators, alleging it had deceived the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) about its MCAS flight control system, which was implicated in both crashes.

It agreed not to prosecute Boeing if the company paid a penalty and successfully completed a three-year period of increased monitoring and reporting.

BOEING FLIGHT HIT BY HORROR TURBULENCE

At least 30 people have been injured after a Boeing flight hit turbulence over the Atlantic, sending passengers flying and leaving one man lodged in the overhead bins.

The Air Europa Boeing 787-9 Dreamline had been carrying 325 people from Spain to Uruguay before the aircraft got into trouble and was forced to land in Natal, in north-eastern Brazil.

Harrowing footage posted on X, shows the damage and aftermath caused by the turbulence, including a man stuck in the overhead luggage compartment.

His feet could be seen poking out of a bin as a group of passengers huddled together to pull him down while a crying baby could be heard in the background.

Other videos show ceiling panels ripped off by the impact of the turbulence, oxygen masks dandling overhead and at least one destroyed seat.

At least 30 people have been injured after a Boeing flight hit turbulence over the Atlantic. Picture: X

Passengers aboard Flight UX045 from Spain to Uruguay shared harrowing video of the damage and aftermath caused by turbulence.

One passenger, who identified himself as Norys, said he was enjoying his flight back home from a European tour when the captain gave a warning about turbulence and urged passengers to remain seated and fasten their seatbelts

“A long time after that, there was a very, very slight turbulence, it was barely felt, and from one moment to the next the plane abruptly fell and we all went up,” Norys told Uruguayan outlet El Observador.

“Those who did not have seatbelts flew and some remained hooked to the roof.”

One man was left stuck in the overhead bin.

A man’s feet can be seen coming out of the overhead bin.

Another passenger named Juan said the incident felt like something out of a “horror movie,” comparing it to a near-death experience.

“The sensation was one of terror, feeling that you are falling and that it does not end,” he told El Observador.

“And you are aware that you are falling at an incalculable speed. And you felt that it ended there, that you died.”

Ceiling panels torn off by the impact of the turbulence, oxygen masks dandling overhead and at least one destroyed seat.

Passengers flew out of their seats from the rough ride.

Another passenger, named Juan, echoed other passengers’ description that the whole incident felt like something out of a “horror movie,” comparing it to a near-death experience.

“The sensation was one of terror, feeling that you are falling and that it does not end,” he told El Observador. “And you are aware that you are falling at an incalculable speed. And you felt that it ended there, that you died.”

Originally published as Boeing hit with new 737 Max safety controversy