JET WARNING
More than 2,500 Boeing 737 planes face urgent inspection over fears of oxygen mask failures during emergencies
The announcement was the same day as another eerie incident
THE Federal Aviation Administration has ordered the inspection of 2,600 Boeing planes over fears that oxygen masks might fail during an emergency.
Following two deadly crashes, Boeing has been under fire for its safety measures and protocols.
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The FAA issued an Airworthiness Directive to make sure oxygen generators are in the correct position following reports, per CNBC.
Their movement could be detrimental in the event there is an emergency where they are necessary for passengers.
The administration will be inspecting 2,600 Boeing 737 Max and Next Generation airplanes.
This announcement came the same day United Airlines Holdings Inc. said a Boeing 757-200 lost a main landing wheel while taking off in Los Angeles, California on Monday at 7:16 am, according to Bloomberg.
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The plane landed in at Denver International Airport at 10:10 am, but the wheel was found in Los Angeles, per a United Airlines spokesperson, according to Bloomberg.
There have been no injuries reported.
It was similar to an incident from March when a plane on its way to Osaka, Japan lost its wheel after take-off in San Francisco.
PLEA DEAL
The game-changing announcement came less than a day after the company agreed to pay a whopping $243.6 million fine, dodging a trial.
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Boeing plans to plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge concerning fatal crashes that killed 346 passengers.
In 2018, a Boeing 737 Max plane crashed shortly after take-off in Indonesia and killed all 189 people on board.
Only a few months later, another plane crashed in Ethiopia, killing all 157 passengers and crew members.
The company plans to take the plea deal, making it a convicted felon in connection to the crashes.
Boeing received the charge after it paid a $243 million criminal fine in 2021, but didn't hold up its other end of the deal.
The plane makers were given the option to pay a fine and avoid further charges because it agreed to create a program to ensure all anti-fraud laws were being followed.
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However, in January, a door blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight and investigators found that Boeing was still violating federal fraud laws.
BIG CHANGES
By accepting the plea deal, Boeing is also signing off on major changes to its infrastructure.
A change reportedly includes appointing a monitor who will supervise the company's compliance with fraud laws.
The company would present three nominees for monitor and the Justice Department would vote on them.
BOEING'S RECENT BLUNDERS
BOEING has faced scrutiny in 2024 after a series of concerning malfunctions.
Here's a list of some of the biggest incidents regarding the aircraft maker:
- January 5 - An Alaska Airlines flight is forced to make an emergency landing after a window was ripped out mid-flight.
- January 24 - A Delta flight loses its front tire during takeoff at the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia.
- March 7 - A wheel drops from a United Airlines flight heading to Japan during takeoff.
- March 13 - A Boeing 777 is spotted leaking hydraulic fluid during takeoff for a United Airlines flight from Sydney, Australia, to San Francisco, California.
- March 14 - An American Airlines flight has to make an emergency landing after one of its tires blew out.
- March 19 - The windscreen on a Boeing 737 cracks as an Alaskan Airlines flight makes its landing.
- March 31 - A pilot on a United Airlines flight is forced to return to Frankfurt Airport after feces from the waste tank in one of the toilets overflowed, causing a foul smell in the cabin.
- April 2 - An Alaska Airlines flight is forced to return to the airport after a faulty bathroom overflowed and sent water flowing down the cabin.
- April 8 - A Southwest Airlines flight has to make an emergency landing in Denver, Colorado, after the engine cover ripped off mid-flight.
It would also take away the ability of Texas Judge Reed O’Connor to increase Boeing’s sentence for a conviction.
'SWEETHEART DEAL'
Families of crash victims and the lawyers representing them found the plea deal to be very disappointing.
Many wanted Boeing to be prosecuted for its crimes instead of being charged with the possibility of a trial.
The families were told about the deal during a video meeting where many got heated.
During the meeting, one family member said prosecutors were gaslighting the victim's families while another began to shout.
"We are upset. They should just prosecute. They are saying we can argue to the judge," Nadia Milleron, a mother of a victim.
Milleron lost her 24-year-old daughter Samya Stumo in the 2019 crash.
Lawyers were also furious about the judge's call.
Sanjiv Singh, a lawyer for 16 of the families of victims of the Indonesia crash, said the plea deal was "extremely disappointing."
He also said the terms "read to me like a sweetheart deal."
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Paul Cassell, a lawyer for another family said: "The underlying outrageous piece of this deal is that it doesn’t acknowledge that Boeing’s crime killed 346 people.
"Boeing is not going to be held accountable for that, and they are not going to admit that that happened."