United States Aircraft manufacturer, Boeing, on Thursday stated that it has completed a software update
for its 737 Max planes, a key step in getting the aircraft flying again after
aviation authorities grounded the jets around the world following two fatal
crashes.
Boeing said it is planning to work with the Federal Aviation
Administration to schedule a certification flight.
Shares of the airplane manufacturer rose after it released
its statement, trading up 2.8 percent late in the session.
The nearly 400 Boeing 737 Max planes in airline fleets were
grounded by aviation authorities in mid-March after a second deadly crash of
the fast-selling plane in less than five months. Investigators in the latest
crash, in Ethiopia, have pointed to an automated anti-stall system the that
pilots battled in the last minutes of both crashes.
The system, known as MCAS, pushes the plane’s nose down
repeatedly if the aircraft’s software senses it is going into a stall. That is
a normal position to avoid a stall, but it can be catastrophic if the plane is
not actually in a stall. Crash investigators have implicated the system in the
Ethiopia crash and another 737 Max crash in October, saying it was triggered by
bad data from the sensors.
On Thursday, Boeing said it has flown the 737 Max with the
updated software for 360 hours on 207 flights. It also, as planned, has
provided updating training materials for 737 Max pilots.
Some pilots complained that they were not told that the MCAS
system was even on the planes, until after the October crash of Lion Air Flight
610, which killed all 189 on board. In order to transition from an older model
of the Boeing 737 to the 737 Max, pilots said they were given training on a
computer or tablet, with some courses that were less than an hour long. MCAS
was not mentioned.
Boeing’s lack of disclosure has drawn scrutiny from
lawmakers as well as the pilots. FAA’s acting chief, Daniel Elwell, at a House
aviation panel’s hearing on Wednesday said the new MCAS system should have been
included in pilot manuals.
How the Boeing 737 Max won approval from the FAA is the
subject of several federal investigations and others by lawmakers.
According to the company, Boeing has completed development
of the updated software for the 737 MAX, along with associated simulator
testing and the company’s engineering test flight. To date, Boeing has flown
the 737 MAX with updated MCAS software for more than 360 hours on 207 flights.
Boeing is now providing additional information to address
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requests that include detail on how
pilots interact with the airplane controls and displays in different flight
scenarios. Once the requests are addressed, Boeing will work with the FAA to
schedule its certification test flight and submit final certification
documentation.
“With safety as our clear priority, we have completed all of
the engineering test flights for the software update and are preparing for the
final certification flight,” said Boeing Chairman, President and Chief
Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg. “We’re committed to providing the FAA and
global regulators all the information they need, and to getting it right. We’re
making clear and steady progress and are confident that the 737 MAX with
updated MCAS software will be one of the safest airplanes ever to fly. The
accidents have only intensified our commitment to our values, including safety,
quality and integrity, because we know lives depend on what we do.”
In addition, Boeing has developed enhanced training and
education materials that are now being reviewed with the FAA, global
regulators, and airline customers to support return-to-service and longer-term
operations. This includes a series of regional customer conferences being conducted
around the world.
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