Boeing 737 Max escape slide inspections now cover more planes

US aviation regulators are expanding mandatory inspections for faulty escape slides on Boeing 737 Max airplanes. This means more airlines will have to check and potentially replace these parts on a wider range of aircraft models.

Airlines that operate Boeing 737 Max planes now have a larger fleet to inspect for a specific safety issue. This is not a new problem, but an expansion of an existing fix, which means more planes will be grounded for checks. The original directive only covered certain models, but now the regulators have found the problem affects more of the fleet.