How one passenger's bathroom break turned into a $3.4 million problem for Boeing
JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/ Getty Images
- The FAA is proposing an airworthiness directive for thousands of Boeing 737s.
- The cost of replacing latches on bathroom doors could reach $3.4 million.
- The move comes after a passenger was trapped in a bathroom, leading to a flight diversion.
Thousands of Boeing 737 planes may need modification after a flight was diverted when a passenger got stuck in a bathroom.
The Federal Aviation Administration published a notice on Friday proposing an airworthiness directive for 2,612 Boeing aircraft registered in the US.
The FAA said it received a report that a passenger was trapped in a bathroom during a flight because the door had a broken latch and they couldn't open the door.
Flight attendants also couldn't open the bifold door, so the pilots had to make an "unscheduled landing," the FAA said.
If a passenger is trapped in a bathroom, the FAA said they could be at risk of serious injury in an "otherwise survivable emergency event" such as severe turbulence or a medical emergency.
The agency identified door latches with four different part numbers that it said should be replaced.
The FAA estimated that could cost airlines and other operators up to $3.4 million — including labor and new latches worth up to $481 each. Some or all of the costs could be covered under warranty.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The FAA's notice applies to certain 737-700, 737-800, 737-900, 737-900ER, 737 Max 8, and 737 Max 9 aircraft.
Boeing's website says that 3,461 of those planes have been delivered to US customers. The FAA's directive suggests that up to three-quarters of those planes have potentially problematic latches.
The FAA has given stakeholders until May 27 to respond to the proposed directive.
While the agency didn't provide details about the flight that prompted the notice, it wouldn't be the first time that bathroom issues have caused a diversion.
Last month, Air India passengers endured a nine-hour flight to nowhere. The New Delhi-bound plane turned back to Chicago because most of its toilets stopped working after a passenger tried to flush bags, rags, and clothes.
And in February 2024, eight of the nine bathrooms on a KLM flight from Amsterdam to Los Angeles stopped working — forcing the plane to make a U-turn over the Atlantic Ocean.