The facts
On October 19, 2026, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a final rule, Airworthiness Directive 2026-20-13, covering certain Boeing 737-600, -700, -700C, -800, -900, and -900ER series airplanes. It was prompted by a report that some passenger service unit (PSU)-mounted video monitors became detached from the PSU rails during a hard landing that did not exceed the emergency load requirements for the PSUs. The directive requires replacing PSU-mounted video monitors that do not have "secondary retention lanyards." It takes effect November 23, 2026.
The FAA says monitors that are not fixed could become fully detached or be held at an unsafe height, which could result in injury to passengers and impede passenger and crew egress during emergency evacuation. Boeing commented on the proposal and supported it "without change". Delta Air Lines asked to be allowed to determine applicability by physical inspection or by reviewing its own PSU drawings; the FAA agreed either method is acceptable. Aviation Partners Boeing confirmed that blended or split scimitar winglets installed under supplemental type certificate ST00830SE do not affect compliance. Panasonic Avionics asked the FAA to add language stating that although some models of PSU-mounted video monitors had not become detached under such landings, the directive was still warranted; the FAA acknowledged the concern, said it was unaware of Panasonic monitors detaching, and noted the directive already specifies that "some, not all," PSU-mounted video monitors became detached.
Our take
Let’s get this straight: the federal government just had to mandate that Boeing tie its fucking televisions to the ceiling with a lanyard. Not a better bolt, not a stronger rail - a goddamn leash, like you’d use for a toddler’s sippy cup on a stroller. One decent landing and these cocksuckers pop out, turning your in-flight entertainment into a free-falling head trauma device. The FAA admits a loose screen could block your escape during an emergency evacuation. So congratulations, Boeing: you’ve engineered a plane where watching *Die Hard* could literally fucking kill you on the way out of a burning fuselage.
The public comments on this rule are a masterclass in corporate ass-covering panic. Panasonic Avionics, which makes these pieces of shit, didn’t argue with the fix. No, that would require balls. Instead, it begged the FAA to add a note saying, *pretty please*, that its specific monitors hadn’t detached yet. Who gives a flying fuck? If a screen cracks your skull, you won’t be checking the manufacturer’s logo before you sue. Delta, meanwhile, asked if it could just look at its drawings instead of, you know, inspecting the actual fucking airplanes to see if TVs are about to drop. And the FAA - that bastion of rigorous safety - said, Sure, either method is acceptable. Inspect the hazard or look at a piece of paper; it’s all the same to these clowns.
Boeing, for its part, supported the rule “without change.” Of course it did. After doors that blow off and wings that forget their own position, adding “falling TVs” to the list of pre-flight hazards is just another Tuesday for these incompetent pricks. The entire 737 series is now a Russian roulette tube where you can lose a door, have the wing fall off, and get brained by a monitor playing *Frozen* before the seatbelt sign goes off. The safest seat is the one where you’ve already accepted that everything in this flying shithole is held together with hope and a piece of string.
So next time you fly, look up. That screen above you is one firm landing away from becoming a projectile, and the only thing stopping it is the same grade of hardware you’d use to secure a backstage pass. Boeing has reached a new pinnacle of engineering: they’ve made air travel a literal game of duck-and-cover. What a bunch of absolute cunts.
