Boeing and the US Federal Aviation Administration have come to terms on a "path" the US airframer can take towards producing more than 38, 737 Max jets per month, Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg has declared. A 38 aircraft-per-month cap for the Max programme had already been in place before the Alaska Airlines Max 9 door-plug blowout in January 2024. After the accident, the FAA kept that limit in place. In addition to reducing its monthly Max production rate to address quality and safety issues, Boeing in May 2024 delivered to the FAA a comprehensive action plan that included a system of key performance indicators tracking the manufacturer's production methods. Boeing is still working towards producing 38 Max jets per month. Its progress was slowed by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers' strike in autumn 2024. "For the 737 Max, we have sufficient parts inventory to enable producing at 38 a month, including fuselages," Ortberg said on 28 January during an earnings call. "All three of the production lines in Renton [Washington] are now cycling. In the past quarter, we completed our safety management meeting with the FAA in which they reviewed our safety management system and our production status, including spending time on the factory floor. They reported that they saw significant improvements, and I'm pleased that we have an agreed-upon path for rate increases beyond 38 per month." He adds: "It's all about adhering to our safety management system and a stable factory as measured through agreed-upon key performance indicators. It's in early innings on the production ramp, and we need to stay disciplined on maintaining a stable production system, but early signs are encouraging." Ortberg notes that US-based fuselage supplier Spirit AeroSystems has done a "really nice job of improving the quality of the fuselages and the flow of the fuselages", adding: "I don't view Spirit fuselages as a constraint right now for us to get to rate 38." He remains vague on the timing of reaching a monthly production rate of 38 Max jets per month and on approval of a rate increase. "We're going to go to that rate when the KPIs say that we're going to go to that rate, and we'll just see how that plays out," Ortberg says. "I do want to get through the rate 38 approval… this year and get to that 42 sometime towards the end of the year." He adds: "Historically, upward rate breaks have been pretty challenging. And when you look beyond the 38 a month to 42 and subsequent rate breaks, how are you thinking about what you need to get done to make sure that you have the right team in place to make those rate breaks happen, given that a lot of people have left over the past five years or so? "The most important thing is that we have the supply chain ready and mature." The 737 Max programme delivered 36 aircraft in the fourth quarter of 2024, including a ramp-up to 18 in December. As of 27 January, Boeing has delivered 33 Max jets during the first month of 2025. "January is off to a very solid start, and deliveries should be in the high 30s for the month," Boeing finance chief Brian West said during the earnings call. "We expect to be in a position to go above 38 per month later in the year." He adds that testing on the "anti-icing design solution" for the Max 7 and 10 is ongoing, "with certification expected to follow later in the year".

Three people received minor injuries while evacuating an Air Busan Airbus A321ceo that was scheduled to operate a flight to Hong Kong on 28 January. South Korea’ transport ministry says that the aircraft, registered HL7763, was scheduled to depart Busan Gimhae airport on flight BX391 to Hong Kong when a fire broke out onboard at around 22:15 local time. Schedules data shows that the flight is scheduled to depart at 21:55. All 169 passengers, six crew members and one maintenance worker on board the aircraft successfully evacuated the aircraft via emergency slides. Pictures taken by the Yonhap news agency show the fire appears to have consumed the top part of the aircraft’s fuselage, while passengers are reported to have heard popping sounds in the cabin shortly before being ordered to evacuate. As a result of the fire three parking stands at Gimhae were closed and Air Busan cancelled eight flights. All departures scheduled for 29 January are expected to operate normally. The ministry adds that seven investigators have been dispatched to investigate the accident. Fleets data shows that the A321 is one of 21 aircraft in Air Busan’s fleet and is owned by AerCap. The jet is 17 years old, powered by International Aero Engines V2527 engines and has been operated by Air Busan since 2017.

South Korean investigators probing the fatal Jeju Air accident have found bird feathers and blood stains in both engines but have yet to determine what caused the Boeing 737NG to crash at Muan International airport on 29 December. A preliminary report by the Korean Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board says that the pilots of the 737-800 first communicated for landing with Muan airport's control tower at 08:54am local time and were cleared to land on runway 01. The tower controller warned the pilots of bird activity in the vicinity during the approach at 08:57am. The aircraft's cockpit voice (CVR) and flight data recorders (FDR) stopped recording at 08:58am, approximately 1.1nm from runway 01's threshold, at an altitude of 498ft and airspeed of 161kt. Six seconds later, the pilots declared an emergency due to a "bird strike during a go-around", the report says. It notes that the pilots had identified a flock of birds during the approach to runway 01, and a ground security camera had captured the aircraft coming close to a flock of birds during the go-around manoeuvre. The aircraft subsequently positioned for landing on Muan airport's single runway in opposite direction, via a right downwind leg and right turn to align with runway 19. It landed on its belly without deployed landing gear, overran the runway, crashed into an embankment with an instrument landing system localizer antenna, and burst into flames. "Both engines were buried in the embankment's soil mound, and the fore fuselage scattered up to 30-200m from the embankment," the report says. All 175 passengers and four of six crew members onboard were killed in the accident. Two flight attendants at the back of the cabin survived with serious injuries. The report specifies the aircraft's impact with the embankment at 09:02:57, noting that four minutes and seven seconds of FDR and CVR recordings are missing. The investigators will disassemble the engines to examine their components, analyse CVR, FDR and air traffic control data, and assess the embankment and bird strike. The birds have been identified as Baikal teals, a migratory duck species that hibernates in East Asia. "These all-out investigation activities aim to determine the accurate cause of the accident," the report states.