Emergency Airworthiness Directive Issued for Boeing 737 MAX Due to Overheating Concerns
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued an immediately effective airworthiness directive for all Boeing 737 MAX 8, MAX 9, and 8200 aircraft. This urgent action follows reports of dangerous cabin and flight deck overheating that could not be controlled by flight crews.
The directive, effective from February 24, 2026, impacts a total of 2,119 aircraft worldwide. This includes 771 U.S.-registered planes operated by major carriers such as:
- Southwest
- American
- United Airlines
The FAA traced the problem to a ground wire fault in the air conditioning system’s circuit breaker (CB3062) in the standby power control unit. This fault can cause ram air deflector doors to close, resulting in the supply of excessively hot air to the cabin and flight deck.
Airlines are required to revise their airplane flight manuals within 30 days. The revisions should provide flight crews with new operating procedures in case the circuit breaker trips. Boeing has stated that it has identified the root cause and is currently developing an engineering solution. This solution will be incorporated into future MAX aircraft. The FAA warned that if left unaddressed, this condition “could lead to injury or incapacitation of flight crew and passengers.”
Source: Flight Global