The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a new airworthiness directive (AD) requiring inspection of 471 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to check for cracks.
On August 8, 2026, the FAA announced that the order had been “prompted by reports of cracks in the bear strap” located at the “forward upper corner of the forward galley door cutout”.
The directive requires “inspection of the fuselage skin for existing repairs and applicable on-condition actions”. The US aviation regulator described the products as being in an “unsafe condition”.
The 471 US-registered aircraft include Boeing 737 MAX 8, MAX 9 and high density 737-8200 aircraft, according to the FAA document.
The decision to issue an airworthiness directive follows on from a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), published on November 25, 2025, that highlighted the problem.
Boeing published Alert Requirements Bulletin 737-53A1408 RB, dated December 20, 2024, “specifying procedures for an external general visual inspection of the fuselage skin for any repair and applicable on-condition actions”.
In the directive, the FAA declared that cracks in the fuselage skin and bear strap “may lead to the inability of the principal structural element to sustain limit loads and adversely affect the structural integrity of the airplane”.
The FAA estimates that external general visual inspection for repairs will require one hour’s work and cost $85. The total cost to US operators is estimated to be $40,035.
External detailed and eddy current inspections for cracks will take up to four hours at $85 per hour. The total cost to US operators for this is estimated to be $160,140.
The airworthiness directive comes into effect on September 10, 2026.
More troubling news for Boeing
The latest setback for Boeing comes just weeks after the FAA suggested that 453 737 MAX type aircraft may require work to correct passenger seat assemblies.
On July 27, 2026, the FAA announced that it was proposing a new airworthiness directive (AD) after reviewing a Boeing Special Attention Requirements Bulletin 737-25-1927 RB, dated December 10, 2025.
The FAA estimates that there could be up to 69 track-mounted passenger seat assemblies per aircraft.
Inspection of each aircraft would cost $85 per seat assembly, with a total cost for US operators of up to $2,656,845. Installation to rectify any problems would cost $85 per seat assembly.
If enacted, this airworthiness directive would also apply to certain Boeing 737 MAX 8, 737 MAX 9, and 737 MAX 8200 aircraft.