Reuters
- Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft can fly again once the company makes design changes, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Wednesday.
- The aircraft had been grounded for almost two years, after two fatal crashes killed a combined 346 people.
- The 737 Max wasn’t able to fly until it got FAA approval.
- The FAA lifted its grounding order Wednesday, and FAA head Steve Dickson said he was “100% confident” in the safety of the plane.
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Boeing’s 737 Max has been cleared to fly again by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), pending design changes.
The FAA grounded the craft in March 2019 after two fatal crashes within five months of each other killed a combined 346 people.
It is the longest-ever grounding of a jetliner in the US, and it cost Boeing about $20 billion.
The model first entered service in 2017.
The 737 Max wasn’t be able to fly until the FAA lifted its grounding order. It now has that approval – but before the jets take to the sky again, Boeing has to make repairs to flaws identified by the FAA during its 20-month review of the aircraft.
This will include installing fixes to the planes' flight computers.
Each US airline operating the 737 Max will also need to deliver new pilot training, focusing on the problems that caused the two fatal crashes.
"Following the return to service, the FAA will continue to work closely with our foreign civil aviation partners to evaluate any potential additional enhancements for the aircraft," the FAA said.
"The agency also will conduct the same rigorous, continued operational safety oversight of the MAX that we provide for the entire US commercial fleet," it added.
FAA head Steve Dickson said he was "100% confident" in the safety of the plane.
"The path that led us to this point was long and grueling, but we said from the start that we would take the time necessary to get this right," he said. "I am 100 percent comfortable with my family flying on it."
The FAA's ruling is only applicable to US carriers and US-registered aircraft, but will inform the work of other authorities around the world.
In October, the head of the European Union aviation regulator said he considers the model safe to fly once again.
Patrick Ky, executive director of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), told Bloomberg News he considers the plane is safe to fly in European airspace after two test flights were conducted in September.
American Airlines is set to be the first US airline to return the Boeing Max 737 to commercial service at the end of December, with United Airlines and Southwest Airlines hoping to follow in 2021.