Troubled aircraft Boeing 737 MAX is cleared for take-off. FAA has authorized Boeing to do so. Boeing’s aircraft have been on the ground for more than a year and a half, as in a short time two fatal accidents took place with the type of aircraft.
The 737 MAX aircraft crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed a total of 346 people. After the second accident, in March 2019, flights with the aircraft were banned worldwide. Later it appeared that the crashes were caused by a fail-safe system, which pushed the nose of the aircraft down each time. That flaw has been corrected with an update of the software.
With the FAA’s approval, airlines will have to update their computer software and re-train the pilots, which will take at least 30 days. Southwest Airlines, which has the majority of copies of the aircraft, states that it may take months to comply with FAA requirements and does not expect to fly the 737 MAX again for the second quarter of 2021.
The construction of the aircraft cost Boeing billions, disrupted the supply chain, and led to investigations that concluded that there was a lack of transparency and proper supervision of Boeing and the FAA during the development of the 737 MAX. A criminal investigation is still ongoing.
About the author: Rick Culpepper
Rick Culpepper is of those journalists who dig the topic to the very bottom. He is often late with the delivery of the piece, but always does it perfectly. In his spare time, he collects data for one of the most high-profile investigations of corruption in the EU.
