Regulators demand safety checks on Boeing 737s

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued an emergency safety mandate to check fuel pumps on more than 560 Boeing Co 737 airliners flown by U.S. airlines, the agency confirmed on Wednesday.

The inspections, required for four versions of the single-aisle 737, are meant to ensure that the fuel pumps turn off correctly. Failure to do that could result in fire or explosions, the FAA said.

Aircraft are not expected to be grounded for the checks, an FAA representative said, meaning that flights should not be disrupted. The issuing of the mandate was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

(Reporting by Kyle Peterson, editing by Matthew Lewis and Carol Bishopric)