The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a new airworthiness directive requiring structural inspections on certain Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The directive focuses on the area of the forward galley door and involves the fuselage skin, the metal reinforcements known as bear straps, as well as a portion of the fuselage frame, the stub frame. Applicable to the Boeing 737-8, 737-9, and 737-8200, this FAA directive, referenced as AD 2026-18-07, will take effect on October 22, 2026. It concerns 476 aircraft registered in the United States, without precluding measures that could be adopted by other certification authorities. The FAA has acted following reports of cracks observed on similar components around the forward galley door. The identified risk is that of cracking of the fuselage skin, the reinforcement, or the partial frame in an area between stations 290 and 296 and between the S-8R and S-9R stringers. If left untreated, such degradation could prevent a primary structural component from supporting the limit loads, and therefore, "adversely affect the structural integrity of the aircraft," writes the American authority. However, this is not a problem detected in service on the 737 MAX. No cracks have been reported at this stage on this family; the measures are based on findings made on previous generation 737s, the 737 Next Generation (NG), which have a high number of cycles. The bear strap is a reinforcement part placed behind the fuselage skin, particularly in areas weakened by an opening: doors, exits, or technical cutouts. Its function is to better distribute the repeated stresses related to pressurization and depressurization cycles. Visual inspections and eddy current tests The directive incorporates the Boeing requirements bulletin 737-53A1420 RB, dated February 13, 2025. Airlines can apply one of two methods defined by the manufacturer: verification of existing repairs, general visual inspection, and then non-destructive testing using high or low frequency eddy currents, depending on the areas to be examined. These techniques allow for the detection of crack initiation without removing or cutting the inspected components. The inspections must then be repeated at prescribed intervals. In case of anomalies, the FAA provides for the replacement of the "stub frame," alternative inspections, or an approved repair. The authority estimates the first inspection to take 31 hours of work in the most in-depth option, or seven hours in another configuration. The repeated inspections of the reinforcement and frame are estimated to take 29 hours of work per cycle. The second directive in a few weeks This decision complements a first airworthiness directive published in August, which already concerned the skin and reinforcements of the upper part of the forward door cutout. This previous measure targeted approximately 471 737 MAX registered in the United States and also responded to cracks found on 737 NG, not on MAX. At that time, Boeing recommended a first inspection of the area now concerned before 15,000 cycles. The most heavily used 737 MAX are still below this threshold. At the observed rate, the first inspections could occur around 2029-2030 for the most active aircraft. The FAA also indicates that Boeing is introducing changes in its production processes to address the root cause identified on aircraft currently in production. It estimates that the deadlines chosen provide "several opportunities" to detect and correct a potential crack before it reaches a critical size.