Industry FAA approves resumption of 737 MAX test operations

The aviation authority Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the resumption of Boeing´s re-certification program for the Boeing 737-8 and 737-9 MAX aircraft. This will allow the manufacturer to perform more tests to finally regain type certificate for the aircraft family.

After the crashes of two Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft in Ethiopia and Indonesia that costed 300 lives, the FAA ordered airlines to ground their 737 MAX aircraft until further notice. Throughout the past 20 months, Boeing has been working on re-certificating the aircraft, but has been struggling with issues on the way.

This allowance of FAA to resume test operations, will enable the manufacturer to take further steps toward a resumption of service. Furthermore, if certified, deliveries could start shortly after. Currently, hundreds of undelivered 737 MAX aircraft are stored at the manufacturer´s production sites.

Regarding the news, David Calhoun, chief executive officer of The Boeing Company, commented: "We will never forget the lives lost in the two tragic accidents that led to the decision to suspend operations [...] These events and the lessons we have learned as a result have reshaped our company and further focused our attention on our core values of safety, quality and integrity."

"The FAA's directive is an important milestone," added Stan Deal, president and chief executive officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "We will continue to work with regulators around the world and our customers to return the airplane back into service worldwide."

Issued by the FAA, an Airworthiness Directive spells out the requirements that have to be met until U.S. carriers can resume service with the 737 MAX. This includes the installation of software enhancements, the completion of wire separation modifications, pilot training and activities that ensure the aircraft are ready for service.

Boeing has defined three important steps to strengthen its focus on safety and quality:

- Organizational Alignment: More than 50,000 engineers have been brought together in a single organization that includes a new Product & Services Safety unit, unifying safety responsibilities across the company.

- Cultural Focus: Engineers have been further empowered to improve safety and quality. The company is identifying, diagnosing and resolving issues with a higher level of transparency and immediacy.

- Process Enhancements: By adopting next-generation design processes, the company is enabling greater levels of first-time quality.