Boeing one incident away from 737 production halt, lessor says

One of the aircraft industry's most influential leaders believes Boeing will face a heavier regulatory backlash if there are further production snags such as the one suspected of causing a door plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 jet. If there is one more significant problem "the FAA will stop (737) production", Air Lease Executive Chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy told reporters at the Airline Economics conference in Dublin on Monday, referring to the FAA. However, he played down concerns of a systemic problem, saying the incident was contained to the Renton plant outside Seattle where the plane was assembled. The FAA and Boeing were not immediately available for comment. Investigators are probing whether bolts were missing or wrongly fitted when the airplane was delivered just eight weeks before the Jan. 5 blowout that led to a partial grounding. The FAA last week took the unusual step of capping Boeing 737 production at current levels.<br/>