Tiny Part Found Missing On Boeing 737 MAX Plane In India During Checks

The 40 737 Max planes registered to Indian airlines are divided among Akasa Air (22), SpiceJet (nine) and Air India Express (nine), aviation regulator DGCA said.

A safety inspection of all 40 Boeing 737 Max planes operated by Indian airlines has found a missing part - a washer - on one aircraft, aviation regulator DGCA said Tuesday, prompting the American aerospace giant to sound a global call to scrutinise all 737 Max airplanes - there are over 1,300 in active use, according to some reports - within 24 hours for "possible loose hardware".

The 40 737 Max planes registered to Indian airlines are divided among Akasa Air (22), SpiceJet (nine) and Air India Express (nine). Checks on 39 were completed with "nil findings". The check on the 40th revealed a missing washer. "... action, as recommended by Boeing, has been taken", the DGCA said.

Boeing is under severe pressure after a door blow-out mid-air on a new Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 plane last week endangered the lives of 177 on board, adding to a ominously long (and growing) list of mishaps and crashes involving the company's flagship jet. This includes a worldwide grounding of the plane between March 2019 and December 2020, after 345 people died in two separate crashes.