- FAA adds precautionary 737 MAX bear strap checks
- Directive targets forward galley door cutout area
- No cracks reported in 737 MAX fleet
- Inspections before aircraft reach 15,000 cycles
- Second 737 MAX bear strap directive in six weeks
The FAA has book-ended a set of inspections for Boeing 737 MAX door reinforcements mandating manufacturer-recommended checks for an area of the forward galley door cutout. The checks outlined in a 17 September FAA airworthiness directive target fuselage skin, bear straps that provide reinforcements and partial fuselage frames around the door’s upper hinge. The checks are precautionary as no cracks have been reported in the 737 MAX fleet.
The FAA’s mandate adopted Boeing’s recommendation of conducting inspections before aircraft reach 15,000 cycles which will not happen for several years. The latest directive is the second 737 MAX bear strap-related mandate issued by the FAA in six weeks. Both stem from the same general issue of stress on the fuselage skin and bear strap that caused cracking on some high-time 737 Next Generation airframes.
Boeing recommended the checks because the 737 MAX’s galley door design and production process was the same as the 737NGs. The first directive issued in August targets skin and bear straps in the upper front corners of galley door cutouts. Boeing developed a programme to inspect fuselage skin and the reinforcing straps with that inspection threshold at 30,000 cycles.
