Boeing resumed production of the 737 MAX on May 27 after discontinuing it in January. (File)
Washington / Seattle:
Boeing Co aims to conduct a key certification test flight on its 737 MAX aircraft on the ground in late June, two people said on Wednesday.
The 737 MAX has been immobilized since March 2019 after two fatal accidents killed 346 people. Boeing has told airlines that it hopes to complete the flight in late June, the sources said.
Requesting anonymity because they were not allowed to speak in public, they said Boeing had also informed airlines of a solution to resolve safety concerns regarding the placement of cable harnesses on the plane.
Reuters previously reported that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had no plans to allow Boeing to resume flights to the 737 MAX until at least August.
The sources warned that the date could slide into July for the certification test flight, as the dates of many milestones for returning the aircraft to service have been postponed several times.
The FAA said on Wednesday that it was “in regular contact with Boeing as the company continues to work on the 737 MAX … The plane will not be allowed to resume passenger service until after the FAA is satisfied that all security issues are resolved. “
Boeing declined to comment.
In March, Reuters announced for the first time that Boeing would separate the 737 MAX’s cable harnesses, which regulators have flagged as potentially dangerous, before the jet returns to service.
In early April, Boeing confirmed that it would make two new software updates to the 737 MAX flight control computer. But Boeing said the software problems that caused the updates were not related to a key anti-software system known as MCAS that failed in the two fatal crashes.
Boeing resumed production of the 737 MAX on May 27 after discontinuing it in January.
Bloomberg News reported the communication to the airlines on Wednesday.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
