Free Republic

The Federal Aviation Administration is recommending that airlines visually inspect the door plugs of more Boeing planes after a similar panel blew off a jet in midair earlier this month. The safety alert issued late Sunday recommends that airlines operating Boeing's 737-900ER jets inspect the door plugs "as soon as possible" to make sure they're properly secured after some airlines reported unspecified issues with the bolts. The 737-900ER is not part of Boeing's newer Max series, but it has the same optional door plug design as the Boeing 737 Max 9. More than 170 of the newer jets have been...

Boeing has seen orders for its airliner models pour in during a week when the Federal Aviation Administration approved Boeing's newest 737 model, the 737-900ER, for commercial service. After winning firm orders from Virgin Atlantic Airways for 15 Boeing 787s and from Air Canada for 23, adding to Air Canada's earlier commitment for 14, Boeing won a repeat order yesterday from Indian carrier SpiceJet for 10 737-800s. New Delhi-based SpiceJet had already ordered 30 737-800s in two previous deals in February 2005 and August 2006. Yesterday, Boeing revealed that Russia's S7 Group, which operates S7 Airlines?also had ordered 10 Boeing...