The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered airlines to replace overhead monitors without backup lanyards on 459 U.S.-registered Boeing 737 aircraft. The airworthiness directive takes effect November 23, 2026.
Operators have 60 months to finish the replacements. The requirement applies to monitors mounted in passenger service units, or PSUs.
The directive follows a report that monitors came loose from PSU rails during a hard landing. The agency says a monitor could fall or remain hanging at an unsafe height.
A hard landing prompted a cabin-safety requirement
The landing that led to the rule did not place the PSUs above their emergency-load limits. The FAA nevertheless concluded that a monitor could separate from its mount in a hard landing.
A detached monitor could strike someone. If it hangs too low, it could also obstruct passengers and crew trying to leave during an emergency evacuation, the agency said.
PSUs are overhead cabin assemblies that hold equipment such as reading lights, air vents and seatbelt indicators. Some installations also contain video monitors used for inflight entertainment.
Airlines must install monitors with secondary restraints
Airlines must identify covered monitors that lack secondary retention lanyards and replace them with units fitted with the restraint. They cannot use another monitor without a lanyard as a replacement.
The required work appears in Boeing Special Attention Service Bulletin 737-25-1851. The FAA also cites Boeing service instructions revised in July 2025, which describe how to install the lanyards.
Some aircraft configurations need more than a monitor swap. Operators may have to check mounting rails or install additional retention hardware. The directive also accepts certain replacements completed under earlier Boeing service instructions.
Delta asked the FAA to let airlines use aircraft records instead of physical inspections to identify affected equipment. The agency allowed that method only when records clearly identify the installation.
The directive covers six 737 series, but not the MAX
The covered models are the 737-600, -700, -700C, -800, -900 and -900ER. The 737 MAX is excluded.
The rule is AD 2026-20-13, Amendment 39-23486, under 14 CFR Part 39. Its docket number is FAA-2025-0004; the project identifier is AD-2024-00094-T, and the RIN is 2120-AA64.
The FAA puts the fleetwide retrofit estimate at $15.6 million
The agency estimates that replacing the monitors across the U.S. fleet could cost $15.6 million. Its calculations assume up to 30 affected monitors per aircraft.
The estimated price varies by supplier. The FAA’s per-monitor figures include two hours of labor at $85 per hour.
| Equipment or aircraft group | FAA estimate |
|---|---|
| Burrana monitor replacement | $2,904 each: $2,734 parts and $170 labor |
| Panasonic monitor replacement | $524 each: $354 parts and $170 labor |
| 62 aircraft with Burrana equipment | Up to $5.4 million |
| 342 aircraft with Panasonic equipment | Up to $5.4 million |
| 55 aircraft with other affected installations | Up to $4.8 million |
Actual costs could be lower if aircraft have fewer affected monitors or operators already completed the work. The fleet figures are estimates, not a per-aircraft charge.
The FAA kept Panasonic monitors in scope after the supplier objected
Boeing supported the proposed rule without changes. Five other commenters weighed in: All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. (ANA), Aviation Partners Boeing, Delta Air Lines, Inc. (Delta), Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic), and an individual.
Delta also asked the agency to clarify that airlines could use either an inspection or a records review to determine applicability. The FAA’s response permits the records method when the documents clearly identify the equipment.
Panasonic said the rule’s wording could suggest that its monitors had detached in the landing behind the directive. The supplier said its design changes strengthened fail-safe performance, rather than correcting a certification failure.
The FAA said it knew of no Panasonic monitors that had detached during hard landings. It still required their replacement when they lacked lanyards, explaining that the reported failure concerned some monitor types and did not establish that every covered installation had failed.
The final rule follows a proposal issued in January 2025
The FAA published the final rule, “Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing Company Airplanes,” on October 19, 2026, at 91 FR 65941–65944. It is listed as FR Doc No. 2026-21332. The Director of the Federal Register approved incorporation by reference of publications listed in the directive starting November 23, 2026.
The agency first proposed the requirement in a notice published January 17, 2025, at 90 FR 5751. The docket can be reviewed online through regulations.gov or in person at the Transportation Department’s Docket Operations office, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. The office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays.
Julie Linn, an FAA aviation safety engineer, is the technical contact. Her office is at 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA 98198; her phone number is 206-231-3584, and her email is julie.linn@faa.gov.
Boeing service material is available from Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Contractual & Data Services, 2600 Westminster Blvd., MC 110-SK57, Seal Beach, CA 90740-5600, at 562-797-1717. The FAA’s Airworthiness Products Section in Des Moines can also provide access; call 206-231-3195 for availability.
