The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is proposing to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for select Boeing 737 MAX 8, MAX 9 and high-density MAX 8-200s after learning that certain passenger seat assemblies were not correctly installed in the seat tracks, creating an unsafe condition.

If adopted, the AD would require a detailed inspection of the seat track fittings of “every left and right-side track-mounted passenger seat assembly” — as many as 69 per aircraft — to ensure correct installation. It would also outline applicable corrective steps.

Affecting 453 MAX twinjets registered in the U.S., the inspections are estimated to cost nearly $2.7 million, plus a further $85 for every seat assembly that requires repair. However, Boeing believes that “some or all of the costs” may be covered under warranty, reducing the financial impact on operators, the FAA says.

Explaining the driver behind its proposed AD, the agency confides that a report emerged “indicating that certain track-mounted passenger seat assemblies were not correctly installed in the seat tracks; the aft fitting shear plungers were not correctly lowered and not engaged in the seat tracks.”

Boeing issued a Special Attention Requirements Bulletin on 10 December 2025, outlining the procedures for conducting the inspection and applicable remedial measures.

Airplane seats are a critical survivability component. The FAA notes that a track-mounted passenger seat assembly that is installed incorrectly “can disengage from the seat tracks if there is an increased load, turbulence, or emergency landing.

“This condition, if not addressed, could result in injury to passengers and crew during an emergency landing or could block the aisle, which could slow evacuation.”

This is not the first time that improperly installed seats on aircraft have posed a safety concern. Fourteen years ago, incorrectly fitted saddle clamps on some of American Airlines’ Boeing 757s proved to be the root cause of why seats came loose on three flights. The incidents, which resulted in two emergency landings, prompted the carrier to inspect a total 48 757s that carried the clamps.

The FAA is accepting comment on its proposed AD until 10 September.

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Featured image credited to istock.com/John M. Chase