The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the USA has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) relating to a potential new airworthiness directive (AD) that will require seat inspections on certain Boeing MAX aircraft – the 737-8, 737-9, and 737-8200.
This proposed AD has been created in response to a report that certain passenger seat assemblies have not been correctly installed in the seat tracks of these aircraft types, creating a passenger safety issue. The issue is that in some cases the aft-fitting shear plungers have not been correctly lowered and engaged in the seat tracks.
If not properly secured, the passenger seat assembly could become disengaged from the seat tracks in the event of increased load, turbulence, or an emergency landing. Disengaged passenger seats could result in injury to passengers and crew during such conditions, or could block the aisle, impeding an evacuation.
This AD would require a detailed inspection of the seat track fittings of each left-side and right-side track-mounted passenger seat assembly on relevant aircraft in order to ensure they have been installed correctly.
The inspection procedures for the seat tracks can be found in Boeing Special Attention Requirements Bulletin 737-25-1927 RB, dated 10th December, 2025.
The costs of compliance
The FAA estimates that this AD, if adopted as proposed, would affect 453 airplanes listed in the U.S. registry. There are up to 69 track-mounted passenger seat assemblies per airplane, each of which the FAA estimates would require one work hour to inspect, at US$85 per hour. This would result in a predicted overall cost of US$2,656,845 to inspect the 453 aircraft.
If any remedial work is required, the FAA also estimates this will require one work hour per seat assembly, at US$85 per assembly. The FAA has no way of determining the number of aircraft that might require remedial action, so the overall cost cannot be calculated at this stage. However, Boeing has indicated to the FAA that some or all of the costs associated with this proposed AD may be covered under warranty, reducing the cost impact on the operators affected.
Guidance for accomplishing the actions required by this AD can be found in Boeing Special Attention Service Bulletin 737-25-1927, dated December 10, 2025, which is referred to in Boeing Special Attention Requirements Bulletin 737-25-1927 RB, dated December 10, 2025.
Deadline for comments on the directive
The FAA is accepting comments on this proposed airworthiness directive (AD), which must be received by 10th September, 2026.
