The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States has issued an order for inspections to be conducted on over 2,600 Boeing 737 series aircraft due to potential issues with equipment onboard that could cause passengers’ oxygen masks to malfunction in emergency situations.
According to a spokesperson for the FAA who communicated with The Epoch Times, the agency has issued an Airworthiness Directive, a legally enforceable order, requiring operators of certain Boeing 737 aircraft to inspect the passenger service unit oxygen generators to ensure that the equipment is in the correct position.
Improper placement of the oxygen generators could result in the emergency oxygen masks failing to provide oxygen to passengers in the event of a cabin depressurization.
The directive is effective immediately and was scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, applicable to certain Boeing 737-8, -9, -8200, -700, -800, and -900ER series aircraft.
The FAA issued this directive following multiple reports that adhesive on the thermal insulation blankets attached to fixed oxygen generators had failed, causing the passenger oxygen generators to shift within the assembly.
The directive stated, “If not addressed, this condition could lead to the PSU oxygen generator shifting, rendering it inoperative,” and subsequently, “precluding the supplemental oxygen supply to passengers in the event of a decompression event.”
Under the directive, maintenance personnel at airlines are required to visually inspect the installation of the oxygen generators, with particular attention to the attachment straps on the insulation blankets, and take corrective action to ensure the equipment is functioning properly.
Furthermore, the directive explicitly prohibits airlines from installing affected components, with the FAA stating that the directive was issued to address the “unsafe condition” of these products.
Any necessary corrective actions must be completed within 150 days, and the directive applies to 2,612 airplanes registered in the United States.
At the time of publication, Boeing representatives had not responded to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.
The oxygen generator inspection mandate adds to the latest issues affecting Boeing, as the company has agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges of deceiving the U.S. government in relation to the fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019, which led to the deaths of 346 passengers.
On July 7, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Boeing had agreed to a deferred prosecution agreement, indicating that the company and the government are swiftly finalizing the terms of the agreement to submit for court approval by July 19.
Under the agreement, Boeing will pay an additional $243.6 million in fines, commit to invest $455 million in safety and compliance projects, and submit to three years of independent oversight of safety and quality controls. Prior to this, Boeing had paid a total of $2.5 billion to avoid criminal prosecution, including $500 million in payments to the families of the crash victims.