Europe says more needs to be done to make the Boeing 737 Max safe enough to fly again

NEW DELHI: the Boeing 737 Max it will not resume flying to Europe quickly. The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) earlier this week allowed the Max to fly again after doing some modifications and pilot training. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has decided that more needs to be done than what the FAA has stipulated to make the Max safe and will come up with its own to-do list that Boeing needs to reach first European airlines can begin to fly the airplane.
The Max was grounded 20 months ago following two incidents in a five-month space that killed 346 people.
“… EASA has also found that there are sufficient reasons to request certain additional actions, deemed necessary to ensure the safe operation of the aircraft concerned, including pilot training…. EASA has decided not to adopt the FAA Airworthiness Directive (AD, which lists the necessary changes to be made before the aircraft can fly again). Instead, EASA will publish a proposed AD for public consultation, the final AD for which it will override the FAA AD requirements for airplanes operated under EU regulations“EASA said.
The Indian aviation regulator also confirmed that it will also look into the changes listed in the FAA AD for the B737 Max to fly again to see if they are adequate for a safe turn to service this aircraft or if more needs to be done.
The FAA AD requires, among other things, the installation of new flight control computer software; incorporating new and revised flight crew procedures; installation of the new MAX display system software; completing an angle of attack sensor system test and performing an operational readiness flight. “… The results of the safety investigations conducted by the authorities of the states where these events occurred ( Indonesia and Ethiopia), as well as EASA’s own safety review, have confirmed that, when the actions specified in the FAA AD have been completed, (Max) can be put back into service. However, EASA has also found that there are sufficient reasons to request some additional actions, deemed necessary to ensure the safe operation of the affected aircraft, including pilot training, “he says.
The Max will require the green light from several aviation regulators before airlines from those countries can start flying the plane again. Basically they will examine whether the changes in the FAA AD are adequate or whether more needs to be done – the position taken by Europeans.
After obtaining the nod of the FAA, Boeing Commercial Airplanes president e CEO Stan Deal He said: “The FAA directive is an important milestone. We will continue to work with regulators around the world and our customers to put the aircraft back into service around the world, ”said Deal.
The Max was grounded after an Indonesian airline Lion Air flight crash in October 2018 and then an Ethiopian Airlines flight crash last March. The faulty software and design of this aircraft were identified as the main reasons for these two accidents in which 346 people lost their lives.