Aboard the Boeing 737 MAX for first public flight after two deadly crashes
- Boeing’s bestselling jet was grounded in March 2019 after two crashes killed a combined 346 people
- The first MAX commercial flight in 20 months is scheduled for Miami and New York on December 29
Will this plane land safely? That question was very much on the minds of the 87 passengers on the revamped Boeing 737 MAX’s first public flight Wednesday following a 20-month grounding after two fatal crashes.
US authorities last month gave the green light for the plane to return to service after upgrades in the wake of the two calamities that killed 346 people in Ethiopia and Indonesia.
Wednesday’s promotional American Airlines voyage between Dallas, Texas and Tulsa, Oklahoma was intended to reassure the public before American resumes commercial service on the jet on December 29.
The trip began with American flight attendants reviewing security procedures before distributing bottled water.
As he welcomed passengers, pilot Pete Gamble testified to the plane’s safety and reliability.
“The systems changes, the scrutiny the airplanes are going through, plus the training that we’ve enforced, has really brought back the confidence level,” Gamble said.