The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is advancing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) targeting Airworthiness Directives for The Boeing Company Airplanes.
With public comments closing on June 8, 2026, the directive significantly expanded mandatory inspection perimeters for vulnerable fuselage components.
The core operational reality is simple, routine maintenance uncovered cracking outside the previously established safety zones.
Specifically, fractures materialized in the forward galley door bear strap of a 737-900ER, a model previously excluded from the initial directive's scrutiny.
Additional cracking discovered between stringers S-7R and S-9R now forces operators to actively inspect the surrounding stub frame.
The unsafe condition, if not addressed, could result in severing of the bear strap, possibly leading to uncontrolled decompression and loss of structural integrity of the airplane.
Airlines must execute a sequence of mandatory internal and external general visual inspections.
The focus is on the fuselage skin, gap covers, the bear strap, and the forward galley door cutout stub frame.
If existing repairs are discovered during these sweeps, operators trigger mandatory on-condition actions.
These include alternative inspections, repetitive High Frequency Eddy Current (HFEC) and Low Frequency Eddy Current (LFEC) checks, or outright component replacement.
The compliance net captures all Boeing Model 737-600, -700, -700C, -800, -900, and -900ER series airplanes across any certification category.
The FAA estimates this mandate directly impacts 1,965 aircraft currently operating under U.S. registry.
The financial footprint for the baseline inspections tops $4,500 per aircraft, with on-condition component replacements pushing costs significantly higher.
Operators seeking regulatory flexibility can utilize Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs), provided they secure approval from the Manager of the FAA's Continued Operational Safety Branch.
Notably, AMOCs already approved under the legacy AD 2021-02-13 remain valid for the corresponding requirements of this new directive, though this exemption is strictly limited to the localized area covered by the specific repair.
