FAA halts production expansion of Boeing’s Max jets — but clears inspection process to resume Max 9 flights

The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday said it would not allow Boeing Co. to expand production of its Max airplanes after an in-flight blowout this month grounded dozens of them for inspections, and it said it would investigate the jet maker’s compliance with manufacturing protocols.

At the same time, the agency also approved an inspection process to get those grounded jets back into the skies.

Boeing’s stock BA dropped 2.7% in premarket trading.

“The exhaustive, enhanced review our team completed after several weeks of information gathering gives me and the FAA confidence to proceed to the inspection and maintenance phase,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in a statement.