US Federal Aviation Administration says Boeing 737 planes have fire suppression issue

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on August 5 issued a new safety directive for Boeing (BA.N) 737 Next Generation (NG) and MAX airplanes to address a potential issue with reduced fire suppression capabilities, Report informs referring to Reuters.

The FAA said planes might have a failed electronic flow control of the air conditioning packs that vent air into the cargo hold from other aircraft areas. The directive prohibits operators from transporting cargo in the cargo hold if airplanes operate with this condition unless they can verify that items are nonflammable and noncombustible.

The FAA said the directive covers all Boeing 737 8, 737 9, and 737 8200 MAX airplanes and some 737-800 and 737-900ER series airplanes.

The airworthiness directive impacts 663 airplanes registered in the US and approximately 2,204 worldwide.

Operators must comply with this directive beginning ten days after the date of publication.