Boeing 737 Max comes a good deal closer to re-registration: The head of the US aviation authority FAA personally takes the helm on a test flight in order to convince himself of the safety of the aircraft involved in the accident.
Boeing is making headway with the targeted re-approval of the 737 Max aircraft. Steve Dickson, the head of the US aviation authority FAA, completed a test flight with the crisis jet. "We're on the home stretch," he said at a press conference after landing in Seattle. As a pilot, it is important for him to convince himself of the safety of the machine. The FAA boss emphasized, however, that the re-registration has not yet been completed and a few more steps are necessary before the 737 Max can be put back into operation.
The "Administrator's Flight" of the FAA chief is primarily of symbolic importance. However, the flight is an important hurdle for Boeing to get a new operating license for the aircraft model, which has been banned from take-offs since March 2019 due to two crashes with 346 deaths. Dickson – who was a long-time pilot for Delta Air Lines, among others – had always emphasized that he would not give the 737 Max the green light until he had flown it himself. Dickson was satisfied with the flight and the pilot training on the flight simulator. "I liked what I saw." But that doesn't mean that more work isn't necessary.
The main cause of the 737-Max crashes in October 2018 and March 2019 is considered to be faulty control software. Boeing wanted to have fixed the problems long ago, but new defects were added instead. The group is accused of rushing to launch the 737 Max in competition with Airbus and neglecting safety. The FAA had already completed its hot test phase to re-admit the jet in early July. The authority itself is under intense pressure because of the accidents. Critics accuse her of turning a blind eye to the original certification and allowing Boeing to fool her.
There is no fixed schedule
FAA chief Dickson has only been in office since August 2019. The recently published final report of the US Congress concluded that technical errors, as well as concealments and regulatory failures, led to the crashes of the 737 Max. Boeing has been accused of having a "culture of secrecy" and the FAA grossly inadequate control. So that such a debacle does not repeat itself, the aviation supervision in the USA is to be reformed. The House of Representatives' committee of inquiry passed a draft law on Wednesday, which provides, among other things, that whistleblowers are better protected and tasks outsourced to companies by the FAA are more closely monitored.
The US aviation authority always emphasizes that there is no fixed schedule for the recertification of the 737 Max and that the aircraft will only be allowed to operate again once all safety concerns have been resolved. Other supervisory authorities such as the European EASA also have a say in the matter so that the 737 Max can be used again in international air traffic. Last week, the FAA, EASA and their counterparts from Canada and Brazil discussed Boeing's suggestions for pilot training before restarting. Experts believe that the US flight ban could be lifted in the fall.
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