FAA won’t require immediate action on 737 Max engines after bird strikes

The Federal Aviation Administration won’t require any immediate action after assembling a review board to weigh concerns about Boeing (NYSE:BA) 737 Max engines after two bird strikes on Southwest Airlines (LUV) planes in 2023, the agency said Tuesday.

The agency’s Corrective Action Review Board reviewed the CFM LEAP-1B engine bird strikes that led to smoke coming into two Boeing (BA) 737 Max jetliners.

The board determined the incidents don’t warrant immediate action and the FAA will follow its usual regulatory process to address it, the agency said.

“The FAA continues to assess how these events could affect other engines with similar structural designs,” the agency said. It will issue a notice to foreign aviation regulators “about new information Boeing (BA) provided to operators of aircraft with LEAP-1B engines.”

The FAA had considered whether new takeoff procedures were needed to close the airflow to one or both engines to prevent the potential effect of a collision with a bird and stop smoke from entering the cockpit.

Coming up with a permanent fix could further delay certification of Boeing’s (BA) Max 7 and Max 10 variants.