The Federal Aviation Administration proposes mandatory seat inspections for 453 Boeing 737 MAX jets registered in the United States.

The Federal Aviation Administration proposed an airworthiness directive on Monday requiring airlines to inspect passenger seats on 453 Boeing 737 MAX jets registered in the U.S. The agency warned that incorrectly installed seat assemblies could disengage from their tracks during turbulence or emergency landings, potentially injuring passengers and crew or blocking evacuation aisles. While the issue stems from a seat track fittings that may not meet certification requirements, the FAA noted that seats function correctly under standard flight loads. The proposed directive targets Boeing 737-8 and 737-9 MAX aircraft. The FAA estimates that each assembly requires approximately one hour to inspect and one hour to fix, with no additional parts required for the repair. Boeing has faced ongoing scrutiny regarding production quality since the 2018 and 2019 crashes. The planemaker issued guidance to operators in December 2025 and supports the FAA making this guidance mandatory. The FAA has opened the proposal for public comment before issuing a final rule.

Sources

• CNN
  Seats on hundreds of Boeing 737 MAX jets may need inspections, FAA says
• Al Jazeera
  US warns hundreds of Boeing jets may require seat safety inspections
• AeroXplorer
  FAA Warns Boeing 737 MAX Seat Failure Could Endanger Passengers
• CNBC
  FAA says seats on hundreds of Boeing 737 Max jets may need inspections