Boeing is urging airlines to inspect 737 Max planes for a “possible loose bolt” in the rudder control system.

The company recommended the inspections after “an international operator discovered a bolt with a missing nut while performing routine maintenance on a mechanism in the rudder-control linkage,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement Thursday.

“The company discovered an additional undelivered aircraft with a nut that was not properly tightened,” it added.

“The inspections will take about two hours per plane, and all new 737 Maxes will undergo the check before they’re handed over to customers,” CNBC reports.

Per CNBC:

“The issue identified on the particular airplane has been remedied,” Boeing said in a statement. “Out of an abundance of caution, we are recommending operators inspect their 737 MAX airplanes and inform us of any findings.

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Shares of Boeing were down more than 1% in afternoon trading.

Alaska Airlines plans to start the inspections on Thursday. A spokeswoman said the carrier anticipates completing them in the first half of January. “We don’t expect any operational impact as a result,” she said.

A spokeswoman for United Airlines, one of the biggest 737 Max customers, said the carrier doesn’t expect any impact to its operations as a result of the issue.

“Under consultation with the FAA, Boeing has issued a Multi-Operator Message (MOM), urging operators of newer single-aisle airplanes to inspect specific tie rods that control rudder movement for possible loose hardware,” the FAA announced.

Newsweek added:

An FAA spokesperson told Newsweek the organization didn’t have anything further to share.

Each inspection lasts two hours, and the FAA will remain in contact with Boeing throughout, according to the announcement.

“The agency is asking the airlines to work through their approved Safety Management Systems to identify whether any loose hardware has been detected previously and to provide the agency with details on how quickly these two-hour inspections can be completed,” the announcement said.

Further action will be considered if loose or missing hardware is discovered, the FAA said.

The 737 Max aircraft debuted in late 2015. It allegedly uses less fuel, causes less noise and offered an innovative redesign of the aircraft cabin, according to a webpage by Icelandair. The plane was Boeing’s top seller in 2018, but in October of that year, one of the planes crashed in Indonesia and killed 189 people. Another 737 Max airplane crashed in Ethiopia the following March and killed 157 people.

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