Hundreds of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft registered in the United States may require inspections over concerns that incorrectly installed seats pose a safety risk, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Monday.

The agency warned that improperly fitted seats could injure passengers and crew members during an emergency landing or obstruct the aisle and hinder evacuation procedures.

The FAA's proposed airworthiness directive issued on Monday would apply to 453 jets registered in the U.S.

While the FAA's authority extends only to U.S. airlines, foreign regulators typically adopt similar directives when applicable.

Globally, almost 2,300 737 MAX aircraft are currently in service, including 823 in the U.S., according to aviation intelligence firm IBA.

The proposed directive comes as Boeing works to improve its production quality and boost output under CEO Kelly Ortberg. Production quality problems were revealed in early 2024 when a door-plug panel blew out of a nearly new Alaska Air 737 MAX in flight.

The FAA said in the airworthiness directive proposal that it received a report that some passenger seat assemblies were not correctly installed in the seat tracks.

That meant the assemblies could disengage from the seat tracks if there was an increased load, turbulence or an emergency landing, the FAA said.

There could be up to 69 track-mounted passenger seat assemblies on each 737 MAX plane, and the issue would take an estimated one work hour to inspect and then an hour to fix each assembly and required no parts, the FAA said. Airlines might be able to have multiple employees inspecting seats simultaneously, greatly reducing the total time for each aircraft.

It did not say how quickly airlines would need to correct the issue.

A Boeing spokesperson said the planemaker issued guidance to operators about the issue in December 2025.

"We support the FAA making that guidance mandatory," the spokesperson said in an email.