Flying Magazine
• Jack Daleo
Boeing paid a $3.1 million FAA penalty tied to safety failures at its Renton and Wichita plants, including deficiencies linked to the 2024 737 MAX door-plug incident. The enforcement action highlights continued scrutiny of Boeing’s production controls, training, guidance and oversight.
Aviation Safety & Regulation
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Landing is often treated as the defining skill in pilot training, but the ability to recognize an unstable approach and execute a go-around is at least as important. Teaching pilots to go around early—and repeatedly—can make rejected landings a normal, disciplined part of flight operations.
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Boeing paid a $3.1 million FAA penalty tied to safety failures at its Renton and Wichita plants, including deficiencies linked to the 2024 737 MAX door-plug incident. The enforcement action highlights continued scrutiny of Boeing’s production controls, training, guidance and oversight.
The FAA would allow aviation medical examiners to issue pilot medical certificates directly to applicants with diabetes not treated with insulin, removing an additional agency review step. The proposed change would not apply to insulin-treated pilots and could streamline certification for eligible aviators.
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Airbus nearly halted A330neo deliveries for about three months after identifying a quality issue involving the horizontal tailplane, including a stray tool found in one aircraft’s tail section. Inspections and corrective work have allowed handovers to resume, but some deliveries will slip into 2026.
The FAA has issued an airworthiness directive covering Lycoming O-235, O-540 and IO-540 engines after identifying defective piston pins. The directive creates a compliance requirement for operators and maintenance providers, with potential implications for general aviation safety, maintenance scheduling and aircraft availability.
Congo has revoked the licences of 16 air operators, a significant regulatory action affecting the country’s commercial aviation market. The move could reshape the competitive and operational landscape for affected carriers, though the available report does not specify the reasons or immediate consequences.
An investigation praised the One Air Boeing 747-400 freighter crew for its structured response after multiple technical failures emerged following departure from London Heathrow, including cabin depressurization and unreliable airspeed indications. The incident underscores the importance of disciplined crew procedures during rapidly evolving failures.
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An Air India A320neo suffered a rapid loss of pressure in all three hydraulic systems at 36,000 feet, triggering a severe in-flight upset that damaged cabin fixtures. India’s AAIB has not determined the hydraulic failure’s cause; the investigation also found the captain tested positive for a psychoactive substance.
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