The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has given permission for the Boeing 737 MAX to fly again after being grounded for almost two years.
The top-selling planes were grounded in March 2019 after two deadly crashes barely five months apart claimed a total of 346 lives.
Both disasters were due to a flaw in a safety system designed to prevent the nose of the plane from pitching up during flight.
Boeing must make software upgrades and training changes to resume commercial flights, but several U.S. carriers have already indicated they’ll resume using the 737 MAX, including United and American Airlines.
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The FAA has given the greenlight for the Boeing 737 MAX to resume use in the United States. Families of those killed say the agency ‘is more concerned with saving Boeing’s investment’ than with safety
An upgrade of a jet first introduced in the 1960s, the 737 MAX was rolled out in 2017 and is Boeing’s top-selling jet.
The jet was grounded globally in the spring of 2019 after the October 29, 2018 crash of a Lion Air 737 MAX in Indonesia that killed 189 was soon followed by the March 10, 2019, crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX that killed 157.
The back-to-back disasters sparked federal investigations not only into Boeing, but into failures in FAA oversight and certification.
On Wednesday, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson, who took over in August 2019, said he felt ‘100% confident’ in the 737 MAX.
Wreckage of the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX crash from March 2019. The disaster, coupled with the crash of a Lion Air 737 Max months earlier, led aviation agencies worldwide to ground the jet for 20 months
Pilot training and software upgrades will focus on an system intended to prevent the 737 MAX from pitching upward during flight. In both disasters, the system shoving down the jet’s nose as pilots struggled to regain control
‘We’ve done everything humanly possible to make sure’ these types of crashes do not happen again, Dickson told Reuters, adding that design changes to the jet ‘have eliminated what caused these particular accidents.’
New pilot training and software upgrades will focus on the plane’s Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), which is intended to counter a tendency for the nose of the 737 MAX to rise up.
In both disasters, the MCAS ended up repeatedly and forcefully shoving down the jet’s nose as pilots struggled to regain control.
When the 737 MAX does return to the skies, Boeing will be running a 24-hour war room to monitor flights, Reuters reported.
The agency also plans in-person inspections of hundreds of jets built during the ban, slowing their distribution by months, if not years.
When the 737 MAX does return to the skies, Boeing will be running a 24-hour war room to monitor flights. The agency also plans in-person inspections of hundreds of jets built during the ban, slowing their distribution by months, if not years
‘We have implemented a series of meaningful changes to strengthen the safety practices and culture of our company,’ Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told employees in a letter.
Boeing’s tarnished reputation, coupled with the ongoing pandemic, led many buyers to cancel their orders of the 737 MAX.
At one point during the grounding, there were so many unclaimed planes that the jets were just parked in an employee parking lot at a Boeing factory in Washington state, next to workers’ sedans and minivans.
Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft parked at Boeing Field in Seattle. American Airlines said it will resume using the jets in December, with United following in the first quarter of 2021
American Airlines said it will resume using the 737 MAX in December, with United following in the first quarter of 2021 and Southwest Airlines in the second quarter.
The EU gave the thumbs up to the 737 MAX in October, but Boeing must still receive approval from regulators in Brazil, China, and elsewhere.
Dickson said he expects international officials will ‘complete their work within a relatively short period of time.’
Relatives at the scene where the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 plane crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 157 on board. Loved ones of passengers on both crashes, some of whom are suing Boeing, have criticized the decision to resume using the 737 MAX
Shares in both Boeing and major U.S. airlines went up on Wednesday, in anticipation of the announcement.
Loved ones of passengers on both crashes, some of whom are suing Boeing, have criticized the decision to resume using the 737 MAX.
In a letter, families of those killed in the Ethiopian Airlines crash said they felt ‘the FAA is more concerned with saving Boeing’s investment in the 737 MAX than it is on ensuring that the airplane is safe.’