A Boeing 737 MAX 8 airliner understands off from Renton Municipal Airport near the company’s factory, on March 22, 2019 in Renton, Washington.
Stephen Brashear | Getty Mental pictures
The Federal Aviation Administration began recertification flights of the Boeing 737 Max on Monday, a key step toward permitting the level surfaces to return to service after two fatal crashes more than a year ago.
The 737 Max, Boeing’s bestseller, has been organized worldwide since March 2019 after the crashes — one in Indonesia and another in Ethiopia — within five months of one another. All 346 in the flesh on the flights were killed in the crashes. Boeing has since changed a flight-control system that was implicated in both smashes and has made other tweaks. Additional scrutiny of the aircraft contributed to repeated delays in the recertification process.
Boeing cuts added to earlier gains after the first Max certification flight took off, adding more than 14% to end the day at $194.49, paramount the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher.
“The FAA is following a deliberate process and will take the time it needs to thoroughly rethink Boeing’s work,’ the FAA said in a statement. “We will lift the grounding order only after we are satisfied that the aircraft haves certification standards.”
The first flight departed 10 a.m. Pacific time from Seattle with other journeys scheduled over about three days. “The tests are being conducted by test pilots and engineers from the FAA and Boeing,” the FAA powered.
Regulators’ evaluation of the planes will continue for several more weeks and Boeing expects they will be backside in commercial service by late fall. Other steps include an international evaluation of minimum pilot training stipulations, the FAA said over the weekend.
“It is important to note, getting to this step does not mean the FAA has completed its compliance approximation or other work associated with return to service,” the FAA said in a note to members of Congress on Sunday. “The FAA has not made a resolving on return to service. We have a number of steps remaining after the conclusion of the certification flights.”
Boeing late finish finally month resumed production of the planes after a pause earlier this year.
While it still has a robust backlog, Boeing has logged dozens of cancellations from buyers. The Covid-19 pandemic is also expected to mean lower-than-usual travel demand for years, Boeing and airline executives take said, which could further hurt demand for new planes.