FAA publishes list of Boeing 737 MAX safety issues

The American Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, on Monday unveiled the list of changes it recommends to guarantee the safety of the Boeing 737 MAX, which has been grounded since March 2019 after two fatal accidents.

The FAA, as it had already indicated in mid-July, will collect public comments on these proposals for 45 days. There will then be several steps before it gives the green light for the return to the sky of the latest generation 737.

Among other things, the agency suggests an update of the flight control software, a review of certain procedures followed by the pilots and modifications in the installation of certain wiring. The FAA also proposes to conduct a test on the aircraft’s angle of attack measurement sensors, key factors in the two crashes.

The FAA accompanied these suggestions with a 96-page preliminary report on lessons learned from the two accidents and actions taken by the FAA.

The 737 MAX has been banned from flight since March 2019 after the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX-8 tat killed 157 people. The tragedy came just months after a Lion Air 737 MAX crashed, claiming the lives of 189 people. The aircraft recently returned to the sky with a series of certification flights at the end of June, but several steps still need to be taken before the aviation authorities grant their authorization, in particular on the training of pilots. The CEO of Boeing said last week that deliveries of the aircraft are expected to resume in the fourth quarter, and not in the third quarter as planned until then.