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Agence France-Presse

Boeing’s 737 MAX could be brought back into service gradually by government regulators but is still on track to be cleared to fly again in 2019, the company’s CEO said.
The aircraft was been grounded in mid-March following two deadly crashes but could return to the air on a staggered schedule in different countries.
Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg said the company was still working through a number of questions with the US Federal Aviation Administration and other regulators but that “all of that work supports our timeline for an early fourth quarter return to service”.
“A phased ungrounding is a possibility,” he said at an investor conference in California on Wednesday.
The MAX crisis has crimped Boeing’s financial performance and dented its reputation. Commercial plane deliveries fell more than 40 per cent through August compared with the year-ago period.

The company is addressing questions from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, which has expressed concerns about a malfunction of the “angle of attack” sensor which triggered an anti-stall system linked to the deadly crashes of Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines planes.
“I wouldn’t see those as divisive,” Muilenburg said of the EASA queries.
“I just think those are questions that we need to answer as part of the process.”
EASA is also among the regulators that have pressed for enhanced pilot training, including simulator training.
Hong Kong bans Boeing 737 MAX from city’s airspace following Ethiopia crash
US pilot groups also have called for mandatory simulator training saying training on computer tablets was insufficient.
A requirement for simulator training could hamper efforts to return the aircraft to service, because there are fewer than two dozen MAX simulators currently available.
In the past, pilots have got around this barrier by training on a simulator for the 737 NG, the predecessor plane for the MAX.


Boeing has developed an additional computer-based training module for the MAX that is currently being evaluated, Muilenburg said.
FAA officials have said they don’t think MAX simulator training is essential to recertifying the plane.
Boeing has cut production of the 737 MAX to 42 a month from 52 previously, due to the grounding and said in July it could cut production further or even temporarily halt output if the flight ban drags out much longer.
Muilenburg said the company still viewed a temporary shutdown as a possibility under certain scenarios, but “our bias right now is to maintain a stable rate at 42 a month”.
Aviation regulators of China, elsewhere ordered Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 to stop flying after second crash of the model in five months
The company’s interactions with regulators has come in two phases, the first focusing on the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, which has been linked to the two crashes.
Muilenburg said Boeing “wrapped up” new software for the MCAS in the middle of the year and is “very confident” in the system after more than 600 test flights.
The FAA in June identified a problem with a microprocessor on the MAX, which led to delays in the recertification process.
Boeing is now “finishing up” additional work following a “holistic system wide evaluation” of the MAX, Muilenburg said.


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Aviation

Grounded 737 MAX could be ‘phased’ back into service by regulators, Boeing’s CEO says

Boeing 737 MAX planes parked near Boeing Field in Seattle. Photo: AFP

FILE PHOTO: Boeing Chairman, President and CEO Dennis Muilenburg speaks during a delivery celebration of the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus aerial refueling tanker to the U.S. Air Force in Everett, Washington, U.S., January 24, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo

US, Europe increasingly divided over return of controversial Boeing 737 MAX, aviation industry leaders warn

A number of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are seen parked near Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, last month. Photo: AFP

Aengus Kelly, CEO of AerCap, speaks during a panel discussion at the 2015 International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit in Miami Beach, Florida, June 8, 2015. REUTERS/Joe Skipper

FILE PHOTO: A number of grounded Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft are shown parked at Victorville Airport in Victorville, California, U.S., March 26, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

epa07433939 Pieces of the wreckage of an Ethiopia Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft are piled at the crash site near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, 13 March 2019. Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 302 carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew was en route to Nairobi, Kenya, when it crashed on 10 March 2019 by yet undetermined reason. All passengers and crew aboard died in the crash. The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft has come under scrutiny after similar deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia within a few months. Several countries have banned the plane type from their airspace and many airlines have grounded their 737 Max 8 planes for safety concerns after the Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed minutes after take-off on 10 March. EPA-EFE/STRINGER

Aviation administration panel reviewing  737 MAX certification says it needs more time to reach conclusion

Grounded Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are seen parked in an aerial photo at Boeing Field in Seattle. Photo: Reuters

FILE PHOTO: Grounded Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are seen parked in an aerial photo at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, U.S. July 1, 2019. Picture taken July 1, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Two Air Canada Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircrafts are seen on the ground as Air Canada Embraer aircraft flies in the background at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo/File Photo

Boeing takes US$5.6 billion revenue hit over crashes, grounding of 737 MAX

A worker walks next to a Boeing 737 MAX plane at Boeing Field in Seattle. Photo: AP

Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., center, hugs Michael Stumo, left, as Paul Njoroge, right, looks on before the start of a House Transportation subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 17, 2019, on aviation safety. Njoroge lost his wife and three young children on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and Stumo lost his daughter on the same flight. The plane was a Boeing 737 MAX. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

FILE - In this March 23, 2019 file photo a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 Max aircraft lands at the Southern California Logistics Airport in the high desert town of Victorville, Calif. Southwest Airlines is again pushing back the expected return of the grounded Boeing 737 Max jet, and it will lead to even more flight cancellations. Southwest said Thursday, July 18, that it was taking the plane out of its schedule through Nov. 2, a month longer than before. (AP Photo/Matt Hartman, File)

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The aircraft has been grounded since mid-March after deadly crashes of Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines planes



Boeing’s 737 MAX could be brought back into service gradually by government regulators but is still on track to be cleared to fly again in 2019, the company’s CEO said.


Plane crashes and aviation accidents

Boeing

Transport and logistics

Grounded 737 MAX could be ‘phased’ back into service by regulators, Boeing’s CEO says

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} The aircraft has been grounded since mid-March after deadly crashes of Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines planes

The aircraft has been grounded since mid-March after deadly crashes of Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines planes